Geriatrics: The branch of medicine concerned with the diagnosis, treatment and prevention of disease in older people or the problems specific to aging.
The term geriatrics comes from the Greek geron meaning “old man” and iatros meaning “healer”. Gerontology is the study of aging, including biological, sociological, and psychological changes. Geriatrics is about health and aging; gerontology is about aging. however, geriatrics is sometimes called medical gerontology.
People are classified as elderly on reaching retirement age (65 for men and 60 for women). In health terms, most patients who requires the services of an elderly care team are aged over 75 year.
Differences between adult and geriatric medicine
Geriatrics differ from standard adult medicine because it focuses on the unique needs of the elderly person. The aged body is different physiologically from the younger adult body, and during old age, the decline of various organ systems becomes manifest.
Geriatricians distinguish between diseases and the effects of normal aging. for example, renal impairment may be a part of aging, but renal failure and urinary incontinence are not.Geriatricians aim to treat diseases that are present and achieve healthy aging.
PHYSIOTHERAPY IN GERIATRIC REHABILITATION
- Geriatrics physiotherapy became a specialty of physical therapy study in 1989. since then, physiotherapists have worked to understand the problems of ageing. prevention of the problems of old age should also be an important theme for all physiotherapists.