Walking aids help the elderly with their mobility. It supports the body to balance better and helps them do a certain level of physical exercise so that it helps relieve pain in different joints and also helps with blood circulation. This improves their physical and mental health, giving them a chance to enjoy their social life and be outdoors for a while when their health supports this. Keep reading further to explore different mobility aids, and how that can help your elders.
Need for Mobility Aid:
If your elderly has some disability, injuries or because of their age, they are more likely to suffer from mobility issues. They need some kind of assistance as a device to help them with mobility. This provides them with so many benefits. It provides them with more independence, increasing their self-confidence and self-esteem. This also helps reduce pains, improve posture and blood circulation, and helps them live a more healthy life.
Different Type Mobility Aids:
There are different kinds of mobility aids that can help your elderly. The kind of assisting device that your elderly needs depend on the medical condition of the elderly. Because, as they age, most people need their assistance device with wheels. This is because, with age, their muscles and joints weaken. This loosens the strength to lift any heavy or light assistance device for longer. Keep reading further to know more about mobility aids with wheels.
1) With Wheels:
Wheels help the user to just drag the mobility aid. This reduces the chances of lifting the aid and spraining their arms or upper body. Prolonged use of mobility aids with wheels has no side effects as such. It is one of the most commonly used aids that work best for the elderly.
a) Wheelchairs:
Wheelchairs are one of the most commonly used assistive devices, which help promote mobility, improving the quality of life. It also helps elders with spinal cord problems by helping them to rest. It opens the opportunities for people with mobility issues to work, go outdoors, and socialise on their terms.
b) Rollators:
Rollators are one of the best options if you want to function well outdoors. It is not suited for indoors, as it is heavy, and also requires more space to move around. These are cheaper options and an ideal option for the outdoors. The best part is that you can sit on it and control the directions. It is adjustable to different heights and is easily transportable. These help the elderly socialise, improving their mental health and giving them a sense of independence.
2) Without Wheels:
Mobility aids without wheels help to support the body and balance it properly while walking. It helps to transmit the load from the lower body to the upper body so that the feet experience less pressure, and it also helps reduce pain and sprains in the lower body. Also, with wheelchairs, and rollators, it becomes difficult to move your body physically. So, mobility aids without wheels are much preferred; if your elderly have the capabilities to move a little, then this works best for them.
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a) Elbow Crutches:
One of the simplest crutches is the elbow crutches. These are aluminium made with a handgrip and a metal or plastic forearm band. These forearms bend backwards and extend up to 2 inches below the elbow. The best part about these crutches is that they are light in weight and are easily adjustable. It also allows the users the freedom to use their arms easily. These require less energy, and since it is small in size, therefore easy to handle and store.
b) Folding Walking Sticks:
A folding walking sticks is what the elderly use first and gradually moves on to other mobility aids. It is ideal for those who do not want to use their sticks all the time. They can unfold it whenever they want to use it. It helps to relax their feet and also reduces pressure on them. It helps when the elderly is travelling and feels tired after some time, then they can use the folding walking stick there.
c) Canes:
Canes help provide a better balance to support the user and the extra support that the elderly need while sitting or standing. It helps them to take the pressure off their legs and transmit it to the upper body. It also helps improve sensory feedback for safety and security purposes while walking. There are different kinds of canes for you to choose from., with multiple legs and a variety of handles to choose from.
Conclusion:
There are many types of mobility aids that are available to help out the elderly both indoors and outdoors. You need to figure out which one of these might work best for them based on their medical condition. And you also need to make sure that they are comfortable using it for a longer duration. It should also help them balance their bodies better and provide them with the extra support to their feet that they need while walking at that age.
Summary:
Many different types of mobility aids are available in the market to help the elderly. There are mainly 2 types of mobility aids to make the mobility process easy. That is, with wheels, and without wheels. To know more about this in detail, keep reading further.