Health & Fitness Bulletins

September 6, 2025

Physical Therapy for Dementia?

Dementia ranks as a leading cause of disability for elderly patients. Even worse, researchers expect the prevalence to quadruple over the next thirty years. The disability caused by dementia takes a toll on both the person with dementia and the rest of the family. Yet there may be a solution that goes under-recognized and underused. People rightly devote a lot of attention to the cognitive decline caused by dementia, but dementia often causes rapid physical decline as well. Simply addressing that physical decline can go a long way toward restoring some independence for patients with dementia and making life easier for family caregivers.

When considering dementia, people rightly think of cognitive decline. Disability from dementia also comes from rapid physical decline caused by the disease. This includes problems with coordination, balance, posture, and gait. These physical challenges add to the disability caused by mental decline and exacerbate the problems with quality of life, caregiver wellbeing, and healthcare costs.

Given the nature of the disease, one would be justified to wonder if physical therapy would help in dementia. Fortunately, we now have a body of peer-reviewed research showing that exercise therapy can slow functional decline, improve balance, and reduce fall risk.

Unfortunately, the data also shows that people with dementia are less likely to access rehabilitation services. Part of this may come from difficulty traveling away from the home when there is dementia-related disability. Part of the underutilization may also simply stem from awareness. If someone you care for is experiencing dementia-related disability, please schedule a physical therapy assessment.