Mobility issues are a common problem as people get older. It is important to ensure that seniors with mobility issues stay safe and to help them be as active and independent as possible.
What are mobility issues?
Mobility issues are difficulties moving—this could mean issues with balance, coordination, muscle weakness, range of motion, transferring in and out of chairs or bed, walking, bending, or falling.
Mobility issues can cause a wide range of challenges and different severity levels, from mild to not being able to move around or walk.
What causes mobility issues in the elderly?
Mobility issues can be caused by many different things, such as:
- Injury
- Arthritis
- Muscle weakness
- Balance problems
- Joint problems
- Pain
- Vision issues
- Medication reactions
- Progressive diseases
Symptoms of Mobility Issues
As a leading home care company, we believe it’s critical to understand and recognize potential mobility issues in seniors. These issues, often rooted in various health conditions like osteoarthritis, balance disorders, or specific medical treatments, can have significant impacts on an elder’s quality of life. Here, we have compiled a comprehensive list of symptoms that may suggest a senior is facing mobility difficulties. This knowledge can serve as the first step towards providing them with the necessary care and support.
- Joint Pain: Regular discomfort or pain in the knees, fingers, hips, and elbows can signal deteriorating joint health, a common cause of mobility issues.
- Frequent Joint Dislocation and Sprains: An increased occurrence of such injuries could be indicative of underlying mobility issues.
- Scoliosis: While it can affect people of all ages, seniors with hypermobile joints may experience more frequent instances of scoliosis or the curvature of the spine, resulting in back pain.
- Fatigue and Decreased Endurance: This can often be an overlooked symptom, but persistent fatigue or a marked decrease in endurance can signal mobility problems.
- Foot Dragging: Particularly pronounced later in the day, foot dragging can be an early warning sign of mobility impairment.
- Leg and/or Trunk Weakness: Weakness in the lower body can significantly affect a senior’s mobility and balance.
- Deconditioning: This is often caused by a decrease in physical activity, which can further contribute to mobility issues.
- Mild Spasticity: Increased muscle tone that worsens with fatigue may hint at mobility challenges.
- Muscle Tightness from Inactivity: A lack of movement can lead to muscle stiffness, further complicating mobility.
- Compensatory Movement Patterns: Changes in movement such as hip lifting, leaning to one side when walking, or using arms to assist in standing can be telltale signs of mobility problems.
Early recognition of these symptoms can be instrumental in providing timely and appropriate care for seniors.
As a dedicated home care company, we are committed to ensuring your loved ones receive the support they need to navigate the challenges of mobility issues and maintain their independence as much as possible.
Tips for Helping Seniors with Mobility Issues
Here are some tips and ideas on how to help someone with mobility issues get around better in their lives.
1. Consult health care team
Consult with the senior’s health care team to understand what is causing their mobility issues and see if there is anything that can be done to address the issues.
Ask about medication reactions that could cause balance or coordination problems and get their vision checked since poor eyesight could cause them to run into things or trip.
You want to have a team to help you deal with the challenges that come with mobility issues.
2. Ensure safety at home
Seniors that have mobility issues are at a greater risk of falling, which can result in serious injury and more severe mobility problems.
It is important to ensure that their home is free from fall hazards and set up to make it easier for them to get around.
According to the CDC’s Home Fall Prevention Checklist, making a home free from falling hazards includes:
- Removing clutter
- Rearranging furniture so it is clear of walkways
- Installing handrails (especially on stairs)
- Securing any loose rugs, carpets, or floorboards
- Moving cords behind furniture or taping them down
- Ensuring adequate lighting (including nightlights) and that the lights are easy to turn on
- Using nonslip mats and grab bars in the bathroom
Ensure that seniors clean up spills immediately and are extra careful going outside or coming in when it is wet or icy.
Learn more about How to Help Prevent Falls in Seniors: Risks and Prevention Tips.
3. Have proper footwear
Wearing proper footwear can help with mobility, pain, and the risk of falling.
If an obstacle to wearing proper shoes is that they are too hard to tie, consider buying non-tie shoelaces or Velcro shoes.
4. Stay active
Mobility issues and a fear of falling often cause seniors to become less active. However, it is important for them to remain physically active and main their strength, flexibility, and balance.
Additionally, the Cleveland Clinic reports that being physically active can reverse muscle loss which can help increase mobility.
Work with the senior and their healthcare team to find exercises that are safe and create an exercise plan.
It is safer for seniors to not exercise alone—friends, family, or home care providers could exercise with them or help them to exercise and ensure their safety.
Seniors could also join an exercise class, or it may be recommended that seniors see a physical therapist.
Some exercises that seniors could consider include:
- Walking
- Stretching
- Yoga
- Pilates
- Tai-chi
- Biking
- Water aerobics
- Swimming
- Lifting weights or using resistance bands
Remember that the senior needs to feel comfortable with the plan and exercises. Check out our tips on talking to seniors.
5. Mobility devices
There are many assistive devices and aids that can help with mobility issues and make life easier, such as:
- A cane
- Walker
- Wheelchair
- Grabbers or reaching tools to avoid bending over
- Ramps
- Stairlift
- Electric rising chairs
- Adjustable bed and bed rails
- Shower seat
- Bathtub transfer bench
- Hand-held shower head
- Walk-in bathtub
- Raised toilet seats or toilet seat risers
- Bidet toilet seats so they can get clean even if they have trouble wiping
- Medical alert to allow seniors to easily call for help
Find the equipment that helps them and practice using it.
6. Provide safe transportation
Seniors also need safe transportation to get around, run errands, go to appointments, and be social.
Some options for safe transportation include:
- Friends and family
- Public transportation, such as buses and subways
- Paratransit (public transportation for people that cannot use the standard options because of disability)
- Taxis
- Ride-hailing apps
- Volunteer organizations for senior transportation
- ITN America
- Home care transportation services
Learn more about How to Find Safe Transportation Services for Seniors.
No matter what service you use, ensure they meet the senior’s accessibility requirements.
7. Check for accessibility
In addition to checking the accessibility of the transportation, you also need to check the accessibility of places before you go.
Look online, call them, or stop by beforehand to ensure that they have ramps, elevators, or whatever the senior needs to be able to safely move around the place.
8. Stay alert and involved in medical care
Making a mobility plan or care plan for seniors is not a case where you can set it and forget it. Check-in and look for changes in ability since some mobility issues can worsen.
Revise the plan and care options as needed.
9. Modify tasks
As a result of the wide range of mobility issues, some people can have difficulty walking, standing, or sitting for long. Modifying tasks so seniors can still do them will make life easier for seniors and help maintain their independence.
Consider breaking up tasks into smaller things to do to make them more manageable. Add a stool to help someone with trouble standing still be able to make dinner or do the dishes.
Organize the house so that things are within reach so they don’t have to reach up or bend down.
Keep important items close by.
Determine a place for mobility aids so they can be easily used when needed.
10. Consult an occupational therapist
An occupational therapist can go through a senior’s home and help to ensure that it is safe, recommend mobility aids that could help, and help seniors modify their daily tasks to be something that they can still do.
11. Hire home care
Home care providers can help seniors with mobility issues stay safe. Home caregivers can monitor seniors, prevent falls, assist them with getting in and out of chairs/bed, and help them walk around.
They can also take them to doctor’s appointments, ensure their home is free from fall hazards, help them stay active and exercise, and provide safe transportation.
Caregivers can modify tasks and seniors’ homes to make it easier for them to perform their activities of daily living (ADLs), which include going to the bathroom, bathing, getting dressed, getting up from bed or chairs, and moving around.
They will help make it easier and fun to be active and go out.
Here at Pacific Angels Home Care, our caregivers can come as much as needed and tailor their services to the mobility issues (and other health issues) that seniors are facing.
If you are in the Santa Cruz area, call (831) 708-2876 or reach us online to schedule a free in-home consultation to learn more about how we can help seniors with mobility issues stay safe and be as independent and active as possible.
