Taking the Pain Out of Standing and Sitting
With age, there are a number of tasks that can become more difficult.
Often, these difficulties arise as a result of medical conditions, such as arthritis, that are much more common among the elderly.
Sometimes, one of the most difficult tasks for seniors is also one that is the most repetitive, specifically standing and sitting without assistance.
Arthritis is one of the main reasons that standing and sitting is difficult for so many seniors.
There are more than a hundred types of arthritis, but one symptom that is common among many kinds of arthritis is joint pain that becomes worse after inactivity.
For example, after having slept all night and not moved for around eight hours, many seniors suffer from thirty to forty-five minutes of arthritis pain every morning when the wake up.
This pain due to inactivity also occurs after having remained seated for an extended period of time, such as during an afternoon of watching television.
When the senior goes to get up, it is not uncommon for them to experience pain, stiffness, and unsteadiness, which greatly increases the risk of a fall.
As a result, some seniors may choose to stay inactive for an even longer time, as they know that getting up will bring them pain, which only serves to make the arthritis pain increase.
There are several things that can be done to help reduce this pain and make standing easier, with exercise and stretching often being found to be the most effective type of prevention.
It is important to first speak with your doctor to come up with a list of safe exercises and stretches that can help prevent joint pain.
Then, make an effort to get up every so often to preform some of these exercises.
The time you should wait varies by person and will take some experimenting, but the goal is to get up and stretch, before joint pain sets in.
Eventually, many find that they can largely prevent this type of arthritis pain from occurring.
Of course in some instances, this may not be enough or simply may not be effective with the type of arthritis that you have.
So, there are also a number of medical aids available to help make it easier to get up.
In the bedroom, a special grab bar system is available that can be attached to the frame of the bed.
This system provides several easy hand holds that can be used by the senior to make getting out of bed easier.
In the living room, many seniors use lift chairs, which are basically recliners that lift into the air.
After it has been fully raised, the lift chair is positioned so that the person into it can stand up easily with little effort.
When it is time to sit again, they preform these steps in reverse to make it easier and safer to sit down.
Above all, it is important to not put yourself into a position where you are at risk of a fall.
This could mean using a lift chair or relying on a family member to make standing easier, but a fall can be very dangerous for a senior, especially if they hit a hard surface, such as a nightstand or TV table.
Often, these difficulties arise as a result of medical conditions, such as arthritis, that are much more common among the elderly.
Sometimes, one of the most difficult tasks for seniors is also one that is the most repetitive, specifically standing and sitting without assistance.
Arthritis is one of the main reasons that standing and sitting is difficult for so many seniors.
There are more than a hundred types of arthritis, but one symptom that is common among many kinds of arthritis is joint pain that becomes worse after inactivity.
For example, after having slept all night and not moved for around eight hours, many seniors suffer from thirty to forty-five minutes of arthritis pain every morning when the wake up.
This pain due to inactivity also occurs after having remained seated for an extended period of time, such as during an afternoon of watching television.
When the senior goes to get up, it is not uncommon for them to experience pain, stiffness, and unsteadiness, which greatly increases the risk of a fall.
As a result, some seniors may choose to stay inactive for an even longer time, as they know that getting up will bring them pain, which only serves to make the arthritis pain increase.
There are several things that can be done to help reduce this pain and make standing easier, with exercise and stretching often being found to be the most effective type of prevention.
It is important to first speak with your doctor to come up with a list of safe exercises and stretches that can help prevent joint pain.
Then, make an effort to get up every so often to preform some of these exercises.
The time you should wait varies by person and will take some experimenting, but the goal is to get up and stretch, before joint pain sets in.
Eventually, many find that they can largely prevent this type of arthritis pain from occurring.
Of course in some instances, this may not be enough or simply may not be effective with the type of arthritis that you have.
So, there are also a number of medical aids available to help make it easier to get up.
In the bedroom, a special grab bar system is available that can be attached to the frame of the bed.
This system provides several easy hand holds that can be used by the senior to make getting out of bed easier.
In the living room, many seniors use lift chairs, which are basically recliners that lift into the air.
After it has been fully raised, the lift chair is positioned so that the person into it can stand up easily with little effort.
When it is time to sit again, they preform these steps in reverse to make it easier and safer to sit down.
Above all, it is important to not put yourself into a position where you are at risk of a fall.
This could mean using a lift chair or relying on a family member to make standing easier, but a fall can be very dangerous for a senior, especially if they hit a hard surface, such as a nightstand or TV table.