Home Physical Therapy and Bedridden Patient Care Guide for the Elderly in Marmaris

Old age (Geriatrics), just like childhood, is a sensitive period when the body needs special attention and correct movement the most; a time when bone density and muscle strength naturally decrease. For our elderly patients living in Marmaris and surrounding areas, receiving treatment in the safety and comfort of their own homes without entering crowded and stressful hospital environments is of vital importance for both physical recovery and psychological morale.

What is the Critical Importance of "Home Physical Therapy" in Elderly Individuals?

The greatest enemy in geriatric (elderly) patients is immobility. Even a single week of bed rest for a patient leads to rapid muscle wasting medically known as "Sarcopenia," joint calcifications, and the acceleration of osteoporosis (bone loss). Thanks to the mobile physical therapy services we provide at home, we can apply specific medical exercises to keep the muscles alive without the patient even needing to get out of bed or into a car. This has three major clinical advantages:

• No Risk of Hospital Infection: Our elderly patients with weakened immune systems are protected from dangerous hospital germs and crowded environments.
• End of Transfer Difficulties: The hassle (and potential fall risks) of getting a patient who has difficulty walking or cannot go down stairs into a car and to a clinic every day is completely eliminated.
• Psychological Comfort: Elderly individuals feel much safer in their familiar beds and homes whose smell they know, avoiding depression and adapting better to treatment.

What Medical Applications Do We Perform on Bedridden Patients?

The situation is much more critical for patients who have become bedridden due to reasons such as a severe stroke (hemiplegia), after a hip fracture prosthesis surgery, advanced COPD, or Alzheimer's. Leaving a bedridden patient to their own fate leads to secondary fatal complications. The vital protocols we apply for these patients include:

1. Bed Sore (Decubitus Ulcer) Prevention and Positioning

Due to constantly lying in the same position, blood flow is cut off in the areas compressed between the skin and the bed (especially the heels, hips, and tailbone), and the tissue begins to die. To prevent these terrible pressure sores (decubitus), we provide the family with training on "correctly turning the patient every 2 hours" and apply special fascial massage techniques to increase the patient's blood circulation.

2. Passive Range of Motion (ROM) and Contracture Prevention

The patient's limbs that they cannot move on their own (paralyzed or very weak) are moved at specific angles (passive stretching) under the guidance of an expert physiotherapist to prevent ossifying and permanent stiffness (contractures) that can form in the joints.

3. Respiratory Physiotherapy (Life-Saving)

In constantly bedridden patients, due to the effect of gravity, air does not reach the lower parts of the lungs (capacity drops), and phlegm begins to accumulate. This situation causes fatal lung infections (pneumonia) in the elderly. We ensure the lungs are cleared and secretions (phlegm) are expelled through special postural drainage, chest percussion, and breathing exercises.