30/06/2025
What Actually Happens to Your Body After 55 – and How Physiotherapy Can Help
After 55, your body shifts in subtle ways — but many of these changes are normal, and highly responsive to the right movement. Science shows physiotherapy isn’t just for injury — it’s a proactive tool for strength, mobility, and independence.
Let’s break it down:
🦴 Muscle & Bone Changes (Sarcopenia + Osteopenia)
Starting in your mid-50s, you naturally lose muscle mass (1–2% per year) and bone density — a process called sarcopenia and osteopenia.
➡️ This can lead to slower movements, fatigue, or reduced balance.
✅ How Physio Helps:
Resistance and balance training guided by a physio can slow or reverse muscle loss.
Weight-bearing and impact-loading exercises improve bone strength.
📚 Research says: A 2020 Cochrane Review found that physiotherapist-led resistance programs significantly improved muscle strength and physical function in adults over 60.
🧠 Balance & Proprioception
After 55, your body's sense of position in space (proprioception) begins to decline, making you feel slightly less steady — especially on uneven surfaces.
✅ How Physio Helps:
Targeted balance training reduces fall risk and boosts confidence.
Physios use tools like wobble boards, gait drills, and dual-task training to re-train the nervous system.
📚 Research says: A 2018 study in Gait & Posture showed that 12 weeks of balance-focused physiotherapy reduced fall risk in older adults by over 30%.
🫀 Cardiovascular Endurance
Your heart and lungs may become slightly less efficient with age, reducing exercise tolerance.
✅ How Physio Helps:
Physios build graded aerobic programs tailored to your capacity.
Interventions often include walking regimens, Nordic walking, or interval training for older adults.
📚 Evidence: The American Physical Therapy Association notes that aerobic training improves VO₂ max and reduces fatigue in aging populations, even into the 70s and 80s.
🦵 Joint Stiffness & Mobility
It’s normal to feel a bit stiffer—especially in the hips, knees, and spine—due to natural cartilage changes and decreased synovial fluid.
✅ How Physio Helps:
Mobilisation techniques, stretching, and active range-of-motion exercises maintain or restore mobility.
Home programs can prevent or delay degenerative changes.
📚 Studies show: A 2021 review in Physical Therapy in Sport found that joint mobilisation paired with exercise improved range of motion and reduced stiffness in people over 55.
🧘♂️ Posture & Core Stability
After 55, changes in spine alignment and core strength may affect posture and balance.
✅ How Physio Helps:
Core strengthening and postural retraining (including Pilates-based techniques) improve trunk control and reduce back pain.
📚 Research says: Physiotherapy-led core training improved postural control and reduced back pain in older adults in a 2019 Journal of Geriatric Physical Therapy study.
🌟 The Takeaway:
Physiological change after 55 is real—but it’s modifiable. With the right guidance, movement can restore function, prevent decline, and unlock a sense of power in your body again.
👉 You don’t have to “put up with it.” Physiotherapy is proactive, personal, and proven.
