Elderly Parents and Mobility

August 9, 2011 by JeffKent  
Published in Family

For elderly folks, as with anybody, mobility and a good quality of life go together. When older people are able to move around voluntarily with no help from others, they are better able to keep their independence. They are happier too.

Loss in the ability to do things is connected to disability. When elderly parents cannot move around in their own houses because of problems walking, they become less independent. An older person may not even have a disability so to speak but just may lack the ability to move around very well. The older people get, the more problems they experience with moving their legs. The more problems a person has with the legs the more likely it is to fall.

For elderly folks, as with anybody, mobility and a good quality of life go together. When older people are able to move around voluntarily with no help from others, they are better able to keep their independence. They are happier too.

Loss in the ability to do things is connected to disability. When elderly parents cannot move around in their own houses because of problems walking, they become less independent. An older person may not even have a disability so to speak but just may lack the ability to move around very well. The older people get, the more problems they experience with moving their legs. The more problems a person has with the legs the more likely it is to fall.

Once a person falls, the odds of falling again increase. That is because when the fear of falling increases, balance and the way a person walks are negatively affected. When a person has poor balance and problems walking, the danger of falling rises. It is a catch 22. A fall creates the fear of falling. The fear of falling makes it hard to keep your balance and walk safely. The more problems with balance and walking safely the more likely another fall becomes.

According to the New England Journal of Medicine,12/29/1988, in a study over one year of older people, over 30 percent of the subjects took a fall. Of those who fell 24 percent reported serious injuries and 6 percent reported breaks. The article stated that falls are more common in the aged than for the population at large.

Risk of falling also goes up with numerous health problems. That is, the more health problems a person has, the more likely that person will suffer a fall. Examples of health problems that can increase the odds of a fall include how: 1) how mobile a person is, 2) how good their cognitive capacities are, 3) how well a person can see, 4) how good a person’s hearing is, 5) posture, 6) back, 7) medication, 8) muscle strength, and 9) activities of daily living.

Just because someone may have 1 or 2 of the problems listed above does not guarantee that person is likely to fall. However, the more of those problems a person has, the more likely it is that one will suffer a fall. Additionally, the more serious any of those conditions are, the more likely a person is to suffer a fall. And, as seen above, once a person falls, the risk of falling again rises.

A person can remain mobile even without the ability to walk well. If a person who is at risk for falling gets a motorized chair before, or after, he falls, the less likely it is he will suffer another fall. Think about it, how many people do you see fall out of a chair? And the less likely another fall becomes, the less likely he will suffer injury. When someone stays mobile and safe, such a person can continue to maintain his independence whether that means living alone or with others.

Nine out of ten folks on Medicare can get a motorized chair for not much money or free if they have mobility issues. A person needs a mobility evaluation from a doctor to qualify. With an evaluation that states a person would benefit from a motorized chair, Medicare will most likely pay for most or all of the cost of a motorized chair.

For many elderly parents, one of these chairs is just the thing to keep safe and maintain independence. And as with anyone, elderly people want to be independent just as much as anyone else.

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