Two 100 year olds taught me an important lesson

As a lifelong exercise/health oriented person and physical therapist who has competed in powerlifting, running, triathlons, long distance biking, golf, etc, I thought I had a firm handle on my treatment philosophy. I approached treatment plans from a practical, evidence based and ther-ex point of view. 

Then I met two incredible 100 year old women; 101 and 103 to be exact.

My patient, Sue, was the younger of the two. Her neighbor, Nyla, was the sage. Nyla and Sue (names have been changed because…HIPAA) both lived in the assisted living facility I was working at four years ago. Neither one needed an assistive device for mobility. Admittedly, these two were skewing the bell curve, but I don’t believe they should be the exception.

I was treating Sue for a “sore shoulder”. During my evaluation, she stated that her goal was to be able to get up and down from the floor without pain.

Wow!

Stunned and impressed, I asked her what was the purpose of getting up and down from the floor. She told me it was her daily morning and evening exercise! Now I’m really reeling and dig for more insight into this incredible story. Sue went on to share that her neighbor, 103 year old Nyla, gets up and down from the floor five times every morning and every evening “to stay limber”. Sue figured that if Nyla could do it and be as strong and vigorous as she is, that she would start to do it as well.

After a few months, she was able to match Nylas 5 floor recoveries in the morning and 5 in the evening. I know middle-age men and women who huff and puff attempting this maneuver and some who can’t do it at all!

Being the dynamic and vivacious person she was, Sue recovered from the minor shoulder injury and got back to her floor recovery routine. From that day forward, however, I treated every patient I met differently. I expected more. I demanded more. I focused more on functional training and endurance.

And I started testing and training for floor recovery with almost all my patients regardless of diagnosis.

I asked myself, “Why aren’t people able to get up and down from the floor?” The answer seemed to be that they simply stopped doing it. Reintroducing such a fundamental, total body movement to my patients changed everything for me and them:

• They recovered faster.
• They regained confidence with all their movements.
• They reduced pain or discomfort.
• They increased strength in limbs and trunk.
• They increased hip and trunk ROM.
• They demonstrated increased ability to breathe easier and with improved stamina