Arthritis creates situations for your aging adult where she experiences pain even from activities that she enjoys. That’s a difficult thing to live with day in and day out. Helping your senior to manage her joint pain from arthritis can be as simple as following some of these steps.
Senior Care in Islip NY: Helping Your Senior Deal with Joint Pain
Remind Her to Listen to What Her Body Is Saying.
Pain can be a powerful message from your senior’s body to her conscious self. It’s a reminder to take things gently and to avoid injuring herself further. Sometimes pain can be an indication that she’s done too much or that she needs to move a little bit more. As your senior begins to listen to what her body is saying more regularly, she’ll start to interpret the messages more accurately.
Build up a Stash of Assistive Devices.
Assistive devices are basically any tools that help your elderly family member to do normal daily activities more easily. These could be canes or walkers, but also devices like jar openers or long-handled grabbers. They might also be door knob turners and other devices that help your elderly family member to experience less pain.
Avoid Stressing Joints When Possible.
How your elderly family member holds her body, stands, and sits all affects how her joints feel. By adjusting some of these motions, your senior is likely to feel a little less pain. It’s also important for her to avoid strain on one joint by using more than one area of her body. For instance, heavier pans should be held with both hands rather than just one.
Change Positions Regularly.
If your elderly family member is staying in one position too long, that can contribute to stiffness and to pain. Changing positions every now and again can help so very much. Even comfortable positions can create problems, so it’s important to remind your senior now and again to change things up.
Rest Is Just as Important as Activity.
Moving is important when your senior has joint pain, but rest is just as important. Senior care providers can be there to fill in those gaps when your elderly family member needs a little more rest on a given day. They can help to ensure that she has what she needs when she needs it the most.
Your elderly family member’s doctor can help her to make sure that she’s doing everything possible to care for her joints and to manage her pain from a medical standpoint. At home, you and she can try a variety of these and other techniques to help ease the strain on her joints.
If you or an aging family member are considering professional senior care in Islip, NY, please call the caring staff at A Gentle Touch Senior Home and Health Care at 631-647-7622 today.