The month of September is Healthy Aging Month, a month to promote ways individuals can stay healthy as they age. One of the best ways to support healthy aging is regular exercise under the guidance of a physical therapist. Physical therapists are experts in movement and exercise prescription, creating customized exercise programs to maintain and improve older adults’ balance, strength, and coordination and prevent falls.

Aging can be accompanied by physiological changes in the body that may limit your physical function, strength, balance, and mobility. However, research has shown that physical exercise can prevent age-related decline, delay loss of physical function, and reduce the risk of fall-related injuries. Physical therapy can help slow the aging process through customized and targeted exercise interventions that help seniors maintain and improve strength, function, mobility, balance, and vitality safely.

Regular exercise is an essential component of healthy aging, helping seniors maintain independence and improve their physical and mental health. Exercise has numerous benefits for older adults, including improving muscle strength, building bone density, enhancing mobility and balance, and slowing age-related cognitive decline. Experts recommend that older adults engage in moderate-intensity aerobic exercise 150 minutes a week, strength train twice a week, and engage in weekly balance and flexibility training.