Maintaining Mobility While Aging
Even particularly healthy older adults will face issues with mobility naturally related to the process of aging. Declining health, inactivity, or neurological diseases make declining mobility downright dangerous for senior citizens.
Every year more than 300,000 people in the senior population are hospitalized with fractured hips. In general, 95 percent of hip fractures result from falling. There are ways to reduce the risk of falling and decrease the effects of aging on mobility, thus ensuring a healthy and fulfilling life.
Courtyard Gardens Senior Living is a Boynton Beach assisted living facility that partners with you to keep your loved ones actively engaged and enjoying their Golden Years. This article will discuss ways to promote maintaining mobility and therapeutic techniques to help if issues arise.
Prevention of Loss of Mobility
A general life principle is that prevention is key, which also applies to movement. A sedentary lifestyle can lead to physical and mental health-related diseases or disorders even among the general population.
If your loved one has already encountered a fall or near fall experience, they may be fearful that it could happen again. You may wonder how you can help them stay active while validating their concerns. There are several things that you can do to help increase mobility and prevent injury, including:
Make Accessible Improvements
Even the fear of falling can diminish the quality of life by encouraging inactivity. Improvements around living quarters can be as easy as placing gripping mats in the bathtub, installing handlebars, or raising the seats in toilet areas. Keeping items that are needed daily within reach also limits the need to climb and stretch to reach for things. It will also limit the opportunity to lose balance.
Declutter the Living Space
Declining eyesight or impaired balance due to neurological disease can increase the risk that even a warped rug might cause a fall. Keeping living areas free of excessive items helps your loved ones navigate their environment safely and prevents frustration when things can’t be found.
Encourage Physical Activity
Besides maintaining muscle strength and coordination, staying physically active throughout later years also decreases health risks and improves cognitive functions. Encourage your loved ones to get out and take a walk, engage in community activities, and stay active doing the things they love.
Learn How to Properly Assist
Regardless of the level of physical activity, sometimes falls do happen, or other reasons may arise necessitating physical assistance. Suppose you’ve found yourself in a situation where you need to help someone up. In that case, it’s essential to know how to assist to prevent further injury to them or yourself. Bend at the waist and lift with your legs, not your back, while lifting the person up under the arms by the trunk or torso.
Staying Engaged
While mobility issues arise during the aging process, they can lead to isolation. Prevent feelings of depression or feeling left out by encouraging your loved one to remain engaged in community activities and social events. Courtyard Gardens Senior Living encourages community living with planned activities that engage the mind and body for an enhanced quality of life and feelings of fulfillment.
Therapeutic Interventions for Senior Engagement
A recent study found that 30 percent of the adult population between the ages of 45 and 79 have at some point experienced a fall, and of that number, eleven percent resulted in injury preventing mobility. With injurious falls come increased medical spending and the need for therapeutic interventions.
Even small movements help maintain the muscular strength, flexibility, and coordination required to prevent falls and encourage independence. Exercise is a critical element of the healthy aging process. Here are some low-impact movements and exercises that can be incorporated into a routine:
Water Aerobics: Working out in water may be one of the most ideal ways to keep your loved one moving. Water naturally lowers the impact of exercise on joints and provides the resistance needed to engage muscles during a workout.
Chair Yoga: Yoga has been shown to improve flexibility, increase strength, and promote mental wellness. However, some of the traditional poses may not be suitable for some senior citizens; chair yoga will still achieve the same health benefits as traditional yoga. In a modified version, seated twists, cat-cow, and pigeon can all be accomplished from a seated position.
Resistance Bands: These workouts can be performed from a chair, standing, or sitting on the floor, making them an excellent option for all mobile abilities. The bands come in a range of styles and levels of difficulty and can improve strength and flexibility and provide a variable workout.
