Providing physiotherapy to older people is a challenge, perhaps best described by the following: "Working with older people can present the physiotherapist with a set of challenges unparalleled in other areas of practice. The caseload is very mixed; patients with musculoskeletal, neurological, and cardiovascular problems may all be found in a single caseload and often in the same patient. Interlinking between medical, psychological, rehabilitative, economic and social problems that all need attention is the norm, rather than the exception. Add to these the differences in presentation of disease, the unique pattern of ageing in each individual, and the varying responses that older people may demonstrate, and the complexity of the challenge is obvious.
A physiotherapist working with older people can be considered a ‘Jack of all trades’. Far from being a term of belittlement, the phrase is a term of respect for all of the skills a physiotherapist needs to apply to their patients in light of the biopsychosocial model to ensure a holistic, patient-centred approach.
