Most seniors suffer from mobility problems, limiting their movements and robbing them of the freedom to live an independent life. As people age, they must be ready to accept the degeneration that the body undergoes and prevent them from performing many tasks that they could do with ease in the younger days. Seniors lose the agility of the younger days, and their movements become sluggish besides reducing the range. They might not be able to walk at a decent speed due to pain in the body or some other problems or might not be able to maintain balance when walking due to the weakening of muscles and stiffening of joints. To overcome the problem, they can use some mobility aids by Disability Friendly LV, which will help regain much of their lost mobility and make them confident of achieving goals that had remained elusive.
To consider which kind of mobility aids would be suitable for your use, you must know what type of assistance you need. The extent of mobility impairment influences mobility aids. It comes under the category of aids for walking support and those for the overall movement.
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Aids for walking assistance
Seniors who can walk but not comfortable doing it without assistance can choose from the following range of walking aids.
Canes or sticks – Those with light to moderate walking difficulties will benefit from using canes that provide balance and relieve pressure on joints. For greater stability, one can use quad canes that come with a broader base and offer better balance than a cane that provides a single-point balance.
Walkers – A walker is a rectangular frame made for metal tubes supported on four legs on which the person can rest the hands for support by slightly bending in the front and then push the device along while taking steps in the forward direction. Walkers may be with our without wheels, with the latter aiding easier movement.
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Wheelchairs
Seniors who cannot walk need to move around in wheelchairs. Wheelchairs are either manually driven or electric powered that operate the device at the push of a button. Manual wheelchairs suit people with moderate upper body strength to operate the device or seek help from some family member or caregiver to operate the wheelchair. A powered wheelchair allows greater freedom and autonomy to users as they can operate the vehicle by themselves and are more efficient than manual wheelchairs, especially for indoor use. Although motorized wheelchairs are costly, the ease of use and versatility are unmatched which gives more freedom to
Scooters
Another option for seniors with weak strength to seek aid in their movement is to use electric scooters, which can operate across various terrains. However, it isn’t easy to operate scooters in tight spaces. It might not be the right device for use at home as it requires larger is to operate because of its wider turning radius and size.
Assessing the difficulties and needs of seniors will help to decide which type of assistive device they need.
