With a physical therapist, Biden has been doing exercises to improve his balance as far back as November 2021.... Biden works out many mornings with physical therapist Drew Contreras, who also worked with former President Obama. Biden's doctor has recommended exercises for balance, which he called "proprioceptive maintenance maneuvers."
I think this is fine. Physical therapists are fantastic, in my view. You really can learn to protect yourself from falling, and they have the training to show you how. I would not look at this program with puzzlement or mockery, as Axios seems to want us to do.
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Our Professor emeritus says..
I would not look at this program with puzzlement or mockery..
That's because, you're What? 80? For elderly people these ARE good programs.. i Hope You are in one
Its not easy controlling a puppet. The strings wear out.
>Biden has been doing exercises to improve his balance as far back as November 2021.... Biden works out many mornings with physical therapist Drew Contreras,<
I'm thinking maybe Drew ought to amp up the stair work a bit...
"Make sure he doesn't trip."
Over his own words?
"I think this is fine."
I'm ambivalent. As bad as Joe is, would Kamala be worse?
Benny Johnson
@bennyjohnson
🚨 BREAKING: Joe Biden almost falls down the stairs hours after Axios publishes the piece “Biden team's don't-let-him-trip mission”
https://twitter.com/i/status/1706711533894488227
I've watched my dad's PT. It was arm lifts and marching in place, just things to help him feel more secure in his movements. I thought it was a great idea. (Dad didn't. He scoffed and told them to go away.)
The NYPost already has a headline about Biden slipping on his Air Force One stairs, though. Reporters must have a betting pool going. Biden caught himself, so maybe the PT is working.
Yep. I am 69 and do yoga for balance. As much as I dislike Biden you can not fault him for training or exercising.
I think it is a terrific idea for Biden to engage in this type of PT. However, it does not inspire confidence that the CIC needs this. Also, after 2 years, it does not seem to be helping - although maybe it prevents the situation from worsening.
Another leak to force Joe out.
25th Amendment is coming unless Joe states he will not run for a second term.
I remember RBG's vigorous workouts late in life that wore out the trainer.
That was BS too.
He already tripped when he let Trump force him to have to show up to a picket line.
Of course Biden doesn't support a 4-day work week, which the union is demanding, along with a 40% increase in pay they now require due to Biden's massive inflationary policies.
I'd say he fell flat on his face.
emptywheel
@emptywheel
1h
Shorter Axios: Dems are worried the worst will happen: That Biden will trip and fall.
But GOPers don't give a flying fuck if Trump's daily calls for assassinations lead followers to take action.
Maybe they can hire someone to address his "stutter" while they're at it.
I agree, Ann: don’t mock a physical infirmity. The trouble is … Biden’s aging deterioration isn’t limited to the physical. He’s slipping mentally faster than leaky tire with a 1/4” bolt hole. And I’m not mocking him for that, either. What is fair game for ridicule is how he and the other dinosaurs tottering towards the tar pits of our government won’t move on. Feinstein, McConnell, Pelosi, et al all need to bow out. The tar pits are no place to end up (though they will provide fossil fuel some day for future generations once the lithium runs out. So there’s that.)
I'm writing as someone in his 70s and has had PT for the effects of an automobile accident. PT is physical therapy. And maybe a little mental. But it cannot fix the mental impairment that's causing falls. Biden tripped over that sandbag because he wasn't watching his step -- wasn't watching because his full attention was elsewhere. Biden nearly fell down the air stairs today because his full (as can be) attention was elsewhere and he wasn't able to watch his step again. Biden is clearly mentally impaired and the 25th is waiting behind the curtain with its hook right now.
"I think this is fine."
All that's missing is the cup of coffee and the building burning around you.
Clearly, Joltin’ Joe is declining physically and mentally and his handlers / puppeteers are clearly trying to keep the world from seeing more of this decline. The only way to keep Joltin’ Joe from tripping on stairs, his own 2 feet, or his brain is to keep him in the basement going forward and record every message / speech and then edit the video to remove all gaffs all the while he is sitting down. Hell, it worked in 2020, why not again? If he needs to go somewhere, have the Secret Service keep the press and public away from areas where Joe is climbing up or down stairs so no video exists.
What I am waiting for is Chevy Chase bringing his imitation of President Gerald Ford stumbling over everything out of retirement but do it as Biden. It wasn’t funny 48 years ago, but maybe it will be funny now. Nah, it won’t. Actually, Chevy Chase isn’t funny about anything at all.
I consder Biden's working with a physical therapist a matter of national security. The big eight oh is coming up for me in about five weeks, and balance is an issue. So I do exercises in the hope I won't fall.
For Grupo Geezer--the geriatric brigade, falls are a serious issue and can be fatal.
Biden is President--or at least Resident in the Oval Office. The thought of Kamala Harris as President is, simply put, terrifying. So whatever it takes to keep Joe propped up until his first term ends is worth it.
OMFG- PT and OT is for people in accidents, stroke, post surgical, drug and alcohol rehab, NOT the supposed ‘leader of the free world’ as we used to say…
…used to say.
The Democrat press can cover up EVERYTHING ELSE, but they cannot cover up the visuals. Those are out there for all to see.
That's why this is their priority. Not Biden's policies. Not Biden's speeches. Not anything else. The visuals they cannot cover up.
Let's be real. When the media prints bad news about the Dems, it's only to cover up something worse.
In this case it's to distract us from the 10-year treasury hitting 4.5%, which makes the interest on the government debt increasingly unsustainable.
Why did a young man like Obama need this? He was in his forties back then.
https://justthenews.com/politics-policy/biden-slips-while-exiting-air-force-one-hours-after-reports-work-physical-therapist
Oops!
David Begly: Biden had been running for president for forty years. He isn't leaving voluntarily. And the 25th Amendment is a nonstarter, the GOP is not going to help the Democrats ditch their Biden problem, let alone that it is harder to invoke than impeachment and removal.
So he had physical therapy since 2021 and yet he still trips and falls, makes bizarre statements, lies in speeches, goes in circles shaking hands with .. no one, and walks off right in the middle of question and answer proceeding...
Yea nothing to see here folks...
who also worked with former President Obama
This seems like it's there to lessen the potential mockery. Obama did it, so it's a cool, athletic guy thing, not a doddering old man thing.
Everyone should, as a child, take beginning judo. I said this in a comment on cycling and helmets in the comment section here in 2012:
I have heard judo described as the Art of Gentle Falling. And I remember the first few weeks of lessons were learning how to fall. This wasn't the only time knowing how to fall has helped me out.
It becomes instinct after weeks of practice.
What did the Romans do in situations like this 🤔
Robert Wright interviews somebody who's even crazier left than he is
Sarah Posner
and thinks Biden is just fine.
@Althouse,
The (likely false) assumption here is that Uncle Joe's balance issue is due to muscle weakness. It seems more likely due to a neurological issue with his brain.
I'm in physical therapy right now after surgery to repair a massive rotator cuff tear that happened during an unfortunate fall on cement. Instead of tucking and rolling, I braced my arm for the fall, and the damage was done. The physical therapy is painful, but it makes a huge difference in my recovery for full mobility of my arm and return of strength. I would never mock or criticize anyone for seeing a physical therapist to improve their physical condition. I don't care if you are left wing or right wing, liberal or conservative, Democrat or Republican. More power to you for taking care of your health.
No decent person wants Biden to hurt himself in a fall.
I also know that if Trump were to fall and hurt himself, a lot of people would celebrate, because they are hate-filled people.
Now that I think if it, I bet a lot of the same people would also cheer for Biden to hurt himself, so they could pick a different nominee.
It’s fine for someone tasked with running bingo night at his assisted living residence. Not so fine for the President of the United States.
His weakness is a real problem. It’s why Russia invaded Ukraine. It’s why China is preparing to invade Taiwan. Democrats, media and retired law professors can pretend his weakness doesn’t matter. Unfortunately, our enemies don’t share their motivation to ignore the obvious.
BTW, is there anyone who honestly believes Biden is still capable of running bingo night at this point?
My elderly mom dutifully took PT following hip and knee replacements and her COPD diagnosis. She bemoaned the fact that too many of her contemporaries did not take PT for the same seriously, and were handicapped as a result. She also bemoaned the impact of covid restrictions on her PT routine. I hope POTUS influences his contemporaries to take PT ward off the danger of falls.
"Why did a young man like Obama need this? He was in his forties back then."
Probably to try to overcome his habit of groveling in front of every foreign leader.
My mother fell coming down the steps of the back stoop under the car port a couple of weeks ago. She has a bad habit of not making sure her heel clears the step she is descending from. She wasn't hurt- it was the bottom of 4 risers, but getting her back off the ground wasn't fun or easy.
But GOPers don't give a flying fuck if Trump's daily calls for assassinations lead followers to take action.
James Hodgkinson and Nicholas Roske have entered the chat.
Back in the day, Dad was a wrestler and his coach drilled in the ways to fall. Dad maintained this helped him avoid injuries, as he did fall in his 80s and 90s.
I applaud any person who works on balance because it's a useful skill to have. My beef with Biden does beyond the simple mechanics of walking.
I have considerable sympathy for Biden on this, having come off a couple of nasty accidents (the latest a broken tibia in March, three years earlier both arms broken at the shoulder joint). PT and OT are both very useful. There is no shame in using physical therapists to prevent your having spills, especially if you are already prone to them.
I'm 55, not a "doddering old man," but I have long felt a mite unsafe around stairs. Partly this is bifocals -- I can't seem to figure out which part of the lens I'm looking through -- and part is just remembered terror about past incidents. When I broke my tibia, it was going down a flight of stairs with a jar of pasta sauce. I landed halfway down, and couldn't move, let alone get up.
So cut the dude a little slack, mmmkay?
Walkers are always a big hit. He could get one with a small basket in front into which he could put the list of reporters he's allowed to call on. Could also carry some Eskimo bars,
https://static01.nyt.com/images/2020/06/20/multimedia/20xp-dreyer-promo/20xp-dreyer-pix2-superJumbo.jpg
40% pay raise for UAW union?
So that new F-150 isn't expensive enough?
Make sure he doesn't trip...........AGAIN!!.
I'm pro PT - what does that have to do with his bad brain? and his corrupt leadership?
Twice in one day Althouse defends Biden’s weakens—first his mental acuity and now his physical fitness. This sort of defend the weakness at all cost gave us Fetterman. Come to think of it, didn’t Althouse vigorously defend Fetterman’s election?
Nobody will begrudge anyone getting PT, for any reason by a physician.
The issue here is that the "campaign" is said to be working on it as a "critical project."
It's not a medical issue, prescribed by his physician. It's a PR tool, intended to minimize the disaster that the campaign is one bad fall away from.
It's the tripping of his brain that worries most. Bring a sensible, cogent leader onto stage via Hoyer Lift and I don't care.
Team Juice is tired.
Of course, "He can ride a bike!!"
A fall at Biden's age could be devastating if he broke a leg or a hip. Plenty of older people die of complications from broken bones and others have extremely long recovery times. what if Biden was recovering over a period of months? Would Jill Biden emulate Edith Wilson, our first woman President? Would Kamala stride in one day and take the head of the table in the Situation Room? Dr. Jill v. The Veep - place your bets.
I hope he puts a lot of effort into his exercise regimen. If he falls and breaks his neck we get Harris for President.
But GOPers don't give a flying fuck if Trump's daily calls for assassinations lead followers to take action.
9/26/23, 3:27 PM
Prove it. I see calls for TRUMPS assassination all the time, and have YET to hear him call for assassinations. YOU are a liar.
Doug Powers
@ThePowersThatBe
Stopped at the picket line just long enough so taxpayers had to pick up the tab for him to crop dust the country with jet exhaust to go tell donors to give him money so he can stop climate change.
RNC Research
@RNCResearch
After spending about 12 minutes at the UAW picket line and just over an hour total in Michigan, Biden boards AF1 using the short stairs and heads to California for a ritzy fundraiser with Hollywood liberals
Physical balance: improved
Political balance: Worsened
"The (likely false) assumption here is that Uncle Joe's balance issue is due to muscle weakness. It seems more likely due to a neurological issue with his brain."
A physical therapist will test to find the source of the problem and recommend suitable exercises based on that, so I'm not seeing an assumption that it's muscle weakness. If you have a brain issue (or an inner ear issue or something else), the physical therapist is still helpful.
Some people just have bad habits, like shuffling their feet or even not using the normal strategies to stay upright after a trip.
The normal strategies are using the feet to rebalance, shifting the position of the pelvis, and taking a step. I had this problem. I had several falls after trips where I fell as if I'd resigned myself to fate.
why not just hand him jump-rope as he trips over foot after foot.
Now that I think if it, I bet a lot of the same people would also cheer for Biden to hurt himself, so they could pick a different nominee.
=========
why could not FJB do as good a bang up job from wheelchair? FJB is almost synonym for FDR
Some people just have bad habits, like shuffling their feet or even not using the normal strategies to stay upright after a trip.
The normal strategies are using the feet to rebalance, shifting the position of the pelvis, and taking a step. I had this problem. I had several falls after trips where I fell as if I'd resigned myself to fate.
Crossfit Althouse. My mom’s been doing it for 4 years now (she’s 86). Two years ago she fell and broke her hip (in a situation where anyone would have fallen). The doctors were amazed the break was so mild, only needing a partial replacement, and also that she had so much muscle which made the surgery much more likely to be successful.
But not only are there benefits if you do have a fall, that extra strength is what allows you to move your feet quickly enough to avoid the fall in the first place.
I wouldn't necessarily draw attention to a person's infirmities, unless they were commanding me to pretend that it didn't exist, penalizing me for not avoiding it as a subject of discussion, or actively censoring stories that covered it fairly.
Oh.... Wait.
I'm not worried about his balance, I'm worried about his brain.
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