Physiotherapy as Primary Prevention - Muscle Power Training for Seniors

Overview

This course explores the role of muscle power training as a primary prevention strategy for maintaining and enhancing physical function in older adults. Recorded at the Canadian Physiotherapy Association 2019 Forum in Charlottetown, PEI, the session presents recent evidence on the development of power‑focused resistance training programs and how these differ from traditional exercise prescriptions. The focus is on creating meaningful effort and intentional training stimulus to improve power output in older clients, which is a critical component for daily activities and resilience. 

The course emphasizes the importance of physiotherapists adopting a preventative approach — shifting from traditional reactive therapy to interventions aimed at sustaining and enhancing muscle power to help older adults remain functional, independent, and resilient to life stressors.

Why This Course Matters

Muscle power — the ability to generate force quickly — declines more rapidly with age than muscle strength alone and is strongly linked to functional performance, mobility, and fall prevention. Recent research suggests that power training may improve physical function outcomes more effectively than traditional strength training, offering clinical relevance for physiotherapy practice.

Physiotherapists, with their expertise in movement, exercise prescription, and functional assessment, are uniquely positioned to lead the implementation of power‑focused prevention programs. Integrating power training into clinical practice supports older adults in performing everyday activities with greater independence and resiliency, addressing key determinants of healthy aging.

Learning Objectives

By the end of this course, participants will be able to:

1. Explain the role of muscle power in physical function for older adults

2. Describe how power‑type training can be used to prevent declining physical function and enhance physical resilience

3. Discuss how physiotherapists can shift their exercise prescription approach toward power‑focused primary prevention

4. Identify practical strategies for designing power training programs suited to older adults based on evidence and clinical insight

Audience

This course will benefit:

• Physiotherapists and rehabilitation clinicians interested in exercise prescription for older adults

• Students and researchers engaged in aging, functional performance, and exercise science

• Practitioners seeking to incorporate primary prevention strategies into clinical or community‑based exercise programming

• Clinicians involved in outpatient, community, home‑care, or geriatric practice settings