Improving Your Senior’s Balance with Exercise

By Kimberly Burdo | February 17, 2020 | Comments Off on Improving Your Senior’s Balance with Exercise
Elder Care Creve Coeur, MO: Seniors and Balance Issues
Elder Care Creve Coeur, MO: Seniors and Balance Issues

If your elderly family member’s balance has gotten dangerous, exercise can help her to reverse the problem. There’s a lot that you both might want to think about before starting an exercise program to solve her balance issues. 

Get Her Doctor’s Advice 

Your senior’s doctor can help you and her to determine exactly how much exercise is enough for your senior. If exercise is contraindicated for her, it’s important to know that right from the start. Her doctor is likely to recommend light exercise at first, increasing in frequency and duration only after she’s built up her strength and ability to do so. Once you have a general plan, you can make better decisions about the types of movements that might be right for your elderly family member. 

Physical Therapy Might Be a Good Idea 

To start out, physical therapy might be in order. People tend to think about physical therapy as a tool to recover from injuries, which is definitely accurate, but it’s also a good way for your senior to get started moving. This is especially true if she hasn’t been exercising in a long time. A good physical therapist can help to spot issues with how your senior moves and might be able to offer advice about improving her balance. 

Exercise that Naturally Includes Balance Can Help 

Some exercises include balance as part of the exercise. Yoga is an excellent example, and it can serve other purposes for your senior, too. Dancing, water aerobics, and even just walking can all be part of the exercise plan for improving your senior’s balance. If your elderly family member’s balance is not very good right now, she may need to use assistive devices at first. 

Core Strengthening Exercises Are Another Option 

If your elderly family member’s mobility and her balance are not where they need to be, it might be a good idea to have elder care providers available when you aren’t there. They can help your elderly family member to be as safe as possible while she builds up her abilities and her strength. 

Exercises that help to build core strength, or the muscles in your senior’s back and abdomen, are another suggestion for improving balance. Those are the muscles that need to work hardest to support your senior as she balances. Exercises like Pilates may be easier for your senior than yoga, which might make her more excited to keep at it. 

If you or an aging loved-one is considering Elder Care in Creve Coeur, MO please contact the caring staff at Autumn Home Care, LLC today at 636-448-9347. 

Kimberly Burdo
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