Maintaining mobility and independence – 5 ways your home care package helps you
As you get older things can happen that impact your mobility or even your desire to be out and about in your community. A health concern, an accidental fall, changes in your living situation or the death of a loved one may cause you to lose confidence as you are not comfortable doing everything on your own or you don’t have family close by to help.
You may have noticed it is becoming more difficult to get up and get going, your muscles feel tight and stiff, making your movements slower and reaching top shelves more difficult so you don’t want to do it. It might be taking longer to do things and your walking might be a little slower, and these changes in your body make you feel less able. You find without meaning to you that you sit for much longer and less active than you used to be.
Less activity leads to more health problems. The body needs movement to ease stiffness and reduce aches and it’s not only physical. You are also looking after your emotional and mental health when you are physically active.
The team at St Louis Home Care in our Victor Harbor office help our clients maintain their independence and have a good quality of life to enjoy these wonderful years of their lives, and to remain comfortable and safe at home. We believe that mobility is one of the most important aspects of a home care support plan. And it’s the simplest daily habits that make all the difference – exercise, movement, nutrition and socialising.
We work closely with our home care clients and tailor their home care support plan to provide a range of services and activities which focus on their health and wellbeing – mentally, emotionally and physically.
1. Create a personalised walking program
Walking for just fifteen minutes a day has proven to provide many benefits. It improves balance and coordination through increasing strength and flexibility, it helps reduce the risk of heart disease, stroke and high blood pressure, it can help prevent and manage diabetes, and it improves mood and reduces symptoms of depression.
Your home care coordinator and St Louis physiotherapist will help you create a walking program as part of your care plan. This can be a walking group which also provides some social enjoyment or you may prefer to take regular walks with your carer or physio.
Related article: Walk toward better health with your Home Care Package and make new friends too
2. Develop an enjoyable social network through St Louis’ Social Programs
A good social life isn’t just a “nice to have”, it’s important for your brain and heart health. Studies have found that cognitive skills declined 70 percent more slowly in individuals who had frequent social contact and a healthy social network compared to those who had little social contact with others. Loneliness, social isolation and a lack of social support can increase the risk of having a heart attack or stroke in older Australians.
We have helped many home care clients to develop new social networks so that they’re having more fun and making new connections. They’re happier, they feel more independent, they’re more mobile, and their quality of life has improved considerably.
Your home care plan can include a wide range of social activities that you can organise with your St Louis Social Coordinator. These can be personalised to meet your specific needs or you can discover other options in our social calendar. Every month we publish next month’s social calendars for our Victor Harbor clients which you can find here: https://www.stlouisagedcare.com.au/news/
Related article: Staying social as you get older improves your heart and brain health
3. Do weight bearing exercises with your physio or care worker
The benefits of some gentle exercise can never be underestimated. By doing exercise that bears weight on your muscles, bones and joints, you will keep the fluid circulating in your joints, making it easier to move. You will also maintain muscle mass and bone density.
Regular exercise nourishes every cell in the body. It boosts your immune system, lubricates your joints, massages your muscles and stimulates your brain. Even if you have pain, exercise will help reduce your symptoms and improve your mobility. Our physiotherapists work with clients who experience pain in their joints and muscles and take the time to explain how exercise can help relieve and prevent pain and improve movement. While it may seem counter-intuitive, maintaining movement is the best thing for people who suffer from chronic pain. Movement may help the body heal, whereas avoiding any activity often leads to a further loss of mobility.
In managing chronic pain, we cannot understate the healing properties of hydrotherapy. The pool offers absolute freedom of movement. And it’s also a lot of fun for our clients as there is often a lot of conversation and laughter in the pool too. For people who prefer land-based activities, we run chair-based exercise classes which are a range of exercises and movements done in the safety of a chair and some classes are done with music and even singing! These exercises will help improve your strength, flexibility and stamina to maintain function, mobility and independent living.
Related article: Chair exercises are back for 2021 at St Louis Aged Care!
4. Your home care package can help you maintain a diet with enough calcium
This study found a 33 per cent reduction in fractures across 7195 people in aged care when an additional serving of dairy was added to their daily meals. It also found a 46 per cent reduction in hip fractures, and an 11 per cent reduction in falls. Yoghurt, cheese and milk are excellent natural sources of calcium that the body readily absorbs.
Preventing frailty by looking after your bone health is essential for ongoing mobility and independence. We help our home care clients with shopping, nutrition and food preparation and ensure there are foods in the fridge and pantry and provide information on how to get adequate amount of calcium in your diet.
5. Get regular Vitamin D by getting out and about in the sunshine
A little sun exposure every day is good for your bone strength and density. Vitamin D is an essential nutrient for healthy bones and research shows that areas of the body less exposed to the sun become less effective at synthesising vitamin D with age. Your home care program can include activities to take you outdoors to the beach, to the park or anywhere else that you enjoy time in the sunshine.
Call St Louis Home Care in Victor Harbor
Phone our Victor Harbor home care team on 8552 1481 and have a chat with our friendly staff about how home care can help you live at home, where you want to be. Your home care support plan can be tailored to include activities and therapies to ensure you remain mobile and independent, living the life you want to live.
We look forward to talking with you about how St Louis Home Care can support you at home.