How To Care For Someone With Limited Mobility

How To Care For Someone With Limited Mobility

Mobility impairments cover many modifications to a senior’s ability to move around. Some older people have minor mobility issues, such as difficulty stepping over obstacles in their path, while others may be completely unable to walk. For elders to remain motivated to carry on with their everyday activities, it’s crucial to assist them in overcoming these problems.

While having limited mobility can impair a person’s daily life, it need not impede independence or the capacity to engage in favored hobbies. 

The following advice and mobility management interventions should be taken into account when looking after elderly patients who have mobility difficulties.    

Strategies for Assisting Individuals with Limited Mobility

As with any condition, addressing and managing mobility concerns should be viewed as a component of tailored care that considers each patient’s unique talents and disabilities. 

Here are some suggestions for helping someone who has mobility challenges.

Streamline Routine Daily Tasks

A senior who has trouble walking or standing for extended periods might not be able to manage as much at home as they once could. Watering plants, for instance, could be challenging if your loved one cannot use a mobility aid in a tiny garden. 

Tell your loved one about the tasks that are the most challenging to complete. Older folks can use home care to manage their daily tasks as they learn to overcome their mobility issues.

Keep them Captivated

Seniors may quit being physically active when they start experiencing mobility concerns. A dread of being wounded frequently brings this on. Begin by discussing what kind of exercise your elderly loved one can still safely perform with their doctor. Then come up with a strategy to make your loved one more at ease with exercise. Even though they may need to try low-impact exercises like swimming or stretching, keeping the body active can assist an immobile person in sustaining their sense of balance.

Practice Using Devices for Mobility

There is a learning curve when using a walker or cane. Your loved one could require assistance learning how to move their body using the device. Building upper body strength could also be necessary for some equipment, including wheelchairs. Offer support to prevent dissatisfaction during the initial weeks with new mobility equipment.

Proper Lift

The elderly or disabled may require assistance getting into and out of beds, chairs, or bathtubs. To keep you and your loved one safe, you should lift with the correct procedures. 

Maintaining proper posture while moving a loved one includes bending at the knees rather than the waist and not twisting your body. Your loved one can assist by placing you in the proper posture and wrapping your arms around your neck to provide additional security.

Keep in mind that you shouldn’t offer to aid without being asked. Ask your patient whether they are ready to receive your help even if they cannot move without it out of respect. 

Offer your assistance if your patient only needs help moving; if you notice they are having a harder time overall, let them know it’s okay and that’s what you’re here for if they need it. If they need your help, wait until they are ready before offering to help if they are having a difficult day. And when you are transporting your patients, remember good body mechanics.

Assisting with a Workout Regimen

Flexibility and balance can both be enhanced through exercise. The team member who prescribes and helps with the exercises will be a physical or occupational therapist. At their request, other members of the care team may offer assistance, and they can also encourage patients.

Giving emotional support

It can be quite upsetting, frustrating, and even depressing for those who are just beginning to experience mobility challenges or simply a change in mobility. In particular, if your patient is reluctant to express their feelings verbally, paying attention to body language and mood signs is critical. 

To encourage children to open up, ask them if they have any questions or voice any worries they may have. When necessary, offer assurance, inspiration, and support.

Must Read: How to Help an Aging Loved One Emotionally

Making Home Modification Recommendations

Examining potential house improvements is the second step in evaluating the mobility situation. Making changes to the house can increase mobility within it, giving the sufferer a greater sense of freedom. While some changes are small, others can require a bigger project. The goal of house modifications, however, is to ensure that the patient may continue to live there in peace and safety. 

You might propose the patient’s family make the following changes to their home:

  • Installing ramps over door thresholds and existing steps
  • Adding balusters to steps or stairs that don’t already have them.
  • Rug removal or pinning down
  • Decluttering the floors to prevent tripping and falling
  • Enlarging doors to accommodate wheelchairs
  • Showers can be installed in place of bathtubs, walk-in bathtubs can be added, and huge shower steps can be reduced or eliminated.
  • Relocating used kitchen goods,

Conclusion

Taking care of older people and people with mobility impairments can be difficult. Professional respite care can be quite helpful for families that struggle to care for their elderly loved ones independently. You must motivate your loved one to live a healthy lifestyle that emphasizes good nutrition, consistent exercise, and a wide variety of mental and social stimulation.