Especially for the AGING WORKER in today’s workplace…
Companies are begging us to help them protect their Aging Workforce. This is a huge concern, as these are often their most valuable employees, many irreplaceable. And there is so much valuable advice we PTs can offer to help workplaces and their people avoid age-related MSD issues. It is becoming our “hottest” program demand. Do NOT miss out on this opportunity and critical need.
We now provide workplaces a new prevention/wellness program… now in great demand.. called “Age*Less” … teaching employees how to take control of their AGING changes. Workplaces are losing their most valuable employees to MSD with significant aging risks. Musculoskeletal Aging is REVERSIBLE!…
This is a modification of our MSD School to re-focus content on aging-degenerative changes affecting the middle-aged worker. we also use this as a seminar for the public to educate the community on utilizing PT to take control of aging issues (great marketing and PR tool).
We offer two definitions of musculoskeletal aging.
Musculo-skeletal tissues (muscles, tendons, ligaments, joint cartilage, spinal discs) are about 80% WATER at age 20. The water makes tissue ELASTIC. But water content drops to 40% by age 40. This greatly reduces elasticity and tensile strength, accelerating more damage, faster, with less loading demand.
Also, daily use breaks off hundreds of microscopic tissue fibers (normal daily life wear and tear), not enough to cause pain. That damage heals during rest, but it heals with scar fibers that have much less elasticity and tensile strength. This daily growth of scar fibers makes tissues weaker and stiffer over time, allowing more damage with less work demands.
This is similar to degenerative arthritis in joints, except in tendons we call it tendinosis. Normally-elastic tendons no longer freely absorb pulls placed on them. The resulting internal strain creates pain that some call tendinitis. This is not an accurate term, because in many there is no actual “inflammation” but, rather, pain from nerve endings being distorted by the non-elastic strain of work (which is why cortisone injections often fail).
Spinal discs shrink (degenerative disc disease), shifting loads to spinal joints (degenerative arthritis) and reducing stability. All THIS is AGING.
GOOD NEWS… These degenerative changes are highly REVERSIBLE with very simple frequent MICRO-STRETCHING and AFTER-WORK RECOVERY STRETCHES. Can we ask workers to do this? Absolutely. These workers are professional athletes… and can be motivated (professionally trained) to accept that self-care responsibility. THIS will be a key component to our upcoming employee training… and critical where ergonomics hazards cannot be corrected !
AGE*LESS ebook manual, handout: AgeLess
Parts of “Age*Less” workplace wellness class… plus at-work & after-work stretches. Note changes from our std MSD School vs Aging Worker School (Age*Less program)
The Physical Therapist in the Workplace 