Limitations to your senior’s mobility might seem like a good excuse for her to stay sedentary, but she needs exercise if she’s healthy enough to do so. Here’s how you can help her get started.
Make Sure Exercise Is Okay for Her
No matter how mobile your senior is already, the very first step is to talk with her doctor. Her doctor can determine just what types of exercise are okay for her to try out if she can exercise at all. There may be some specific limitations that she has, either temporarily or permanently. The more you know about those, the better for everyone involved.
Consider Physical Therapy
In some cases, your senior may really need physical therapy before or in place of exercise. Her doctor can help you to determine if this is the case for your senior. Physical therapy can help your elderly family member to become more mobile, but it can also help her to become stronger so that she can cope with her mobility limitations.
Choose an Exercise She Enjoys
If you’re choosing exercises that your senior absolutely hates, she’s not going to want to get on board with this idea. Think about how you feel when you’re doing exercise that you dislike. You probably try to avoid it and the same will go for your senior. Keep her involved in the decision making process and let her try out a few different activities to see what she enjoys the most.
Make it a Part of Every Day
Your elderly family member is going to get more out of exercise if she’s doing it as a regular part of every day. Help her to figure out when the best time of day is for her to be exercising. If you’re not going to be there during that part of the day, it might be a good idea to hire home care providers who can be there. They can help ensure that your senior isn’t pushing herself too hard and if she needs help, it’s right there.
Keep Goals Realistic
Above all, you and your elderly family member both need to keep her exercise goals as realistic as possible. Expecting that she’ll be able to do some really difficult things in a short period of time is only going to discourage her. Work out some reasonable, realistic goals and set up some rewards for meeting those goals.
Your senior may feel as if exercise is really difficult at first. But as she becomes stronger, she’ll start to see the benefits that she gets from moving a little bit each day. You can even exercise with her, making this a powerful bonding activity.
If you or an aging loved one is considering Senior Care in Del Cerro, CA, or the surrounding area, please contact the caring staff at Love 2 Live Care. Call Today 1-619-291-4663