According to the Pew Research Center, nearly half of U.S. adults 75 and older and about one in four between 65 and 74 report having a disability. Many have mobility impairments, making walking or climbing the stairs difficult.
If you also have an older loved one in Raleigh, NC, with senior mobility problems, it’s wise to have them move to an assisted living community. Here, your loved one can receive personalized elderly care solutions to help with their mobility.
In this guide, the TerraBella Northridge staff will explore the roles an assisted living community plays in improving elderly mobility and what you can do to help your loved one put more pep into their step.
The Roles of Assisted Living in Improving Senior Mobility
Assisted living communities, such as TerraBella Northridge in Raleigh, NC, help promote better senior mobility by:
- Delivering personalized care and supportive services
- Developing physical activity plans with consideration of each resident’s mobility abilities
- Provision of nourishing meals
Let’s examine how these assisted living services help seniors with their mobility.
Personalized Care and Supportive Services
Assisted living communities develop tailored personal care plans based on the specific needs of each resident. For example, at TerraBella Northridge, our comprehensive assisted living services may include helping residents with:
- Showering or bathing
- Grooming and personal hygiene
- Selecting appropriate clothes and putting them on
- Medication and continence management
- Escorting and transferring needs
- Eating and feeding
By providing tailored care plans, we can help residents receive the adequate compassionate support they need to stay safe and comfortable.
Senior Safety and Mobility: The Link
Senior safety is paramount to maintaining and improving mobility because sometimes, it only takes one slip or trip incident to turn into a fall.
Falls are prevalent. According to the National Council on Aging (NCOA), 14 million, or one in four older adults 65 and over, experience one yearly. They can cause injuries in older adults that diminish their mobility and function.
Minimizing Safety Risks With 24/7 Care and Support
One of the goals of our community’s tailored care plans is to minimize fall risks. In doing so, we can help residents maintain as much of their independence as possible.
Moreover, our highly experienced care team is available 24/7. You and your loved one can rest assured that our residents have access to the support they need when they need it.
Physical Activity Plans
One of the most crucial and practical mobility tips for seniors is staying as physically active as possible. It may sound counterintuitive, but moving as much as one’s condition allows can help with posture, strength, and flexibility.
How Being Active Enhances Mobility
HelpGuide.org says improving those three areas can enhance balance and coordination and lower fall risks. They can also help ease the symptoms of mobility-decreasing conditions like arthritis.
So, staying as active as possible can help seniors be more mobile.
What Assisted Living Communities Do to Boost Senior Activeness
One of the roles of assisted living communities is to encourage movement in seniors by offering them opportunities to participate in physical activities. An example is TerraBella Northridge’s Celebrations program. It includes many senior-centered activities and events, including:
- Morning stretches
- Balance training
- Chair exercises
- Dance classes
- Gardening
- Walking clubs
- Fitness courses
We also have many other exciting activities to encourage residents to move about, promote socialization, and help them have fun. For example, we have arts and crafts programs, games, outdoor adventures, and excursions to local attractions.
Nourishing Meals
Poor diet is a modifiable risk factor associated with an increased risk of disability, including immobility.
Poor diet can lead to malnutrition. It occurs when a person either consumes too little nutrients (undernutrition) or takes in too many (overnutrition).
The Roles of Proper Nutrition in Malnutrition and Mobility
One of the age and nutrition-related causes of senior mobility issues is sarcopenia. It results in a loss of muscle function and mass. Since muscles are responsible for movement, losing their function and mass can limit mobility.
Proper nutrition can prevent malnutrition and combat sarcopenia, reducing the risk of mobility issues. Cleveland Clinic even says a healthy diet and physical activity can reverse sarcopenia.
Proper diet and nutrition also play a crucial role in maintaining skeletal strength. The bones need many of the same nutrients as the rest of the body, such as protein and potassium, but they also need more calcium and phosphorus.
How Assisted Living Helps With Senior Nutrition
An assisted living community helps seniors eat healthier and better by providing nutritious, tasty meals thrice daily.
TerraBella Northridge has a talented culinary team that prepares our residents’ meals (and healthy treats!). They whip up well-balanced meals to give seniors the nutrients they need to stay fit.
Because the meals we serve are tasty, we also help promote better appetite in our residents. Loss of appetite is common among older adults, so we counter this by providing them with varied, delicious, and nutritious dishes.
What You Can Do for Your Loved One
You can also help improve your older loved one’s mobility in assisted living by helping them access senior mobility aids. They’re devices designed to help users maintain balance and stability as they move about. Some examples include:
- Walking poles, also called hiking or trekking poles
- Canes
- Rollators or walkers
- Transport chairs
In addition to mobility gadgets for seniors, consider investing in fall-detection devices. They use sensors that detect motion and identify falls, alerting the medical alert company’s emergency monitoring center that the user needs help. The center then notifies appropriate agencies and people, such as first responders and the user’s family members.
Fall-detection devices can help your loved one stay mobile because the sooner they get treated for a fall, the sooner and more likely they can recover.
Explore Our Assisted Living Community Today
Now that you know how assisted living can help improve senior mobility, it’s time to speak with your older loved one about transitioning to one.
One way to help them realize the many benefits of assisted living is to take them on a tour of TerraBella Northridge in Raleigh, NC. In doing so, they can see how our welcoming community, staff, and amenities help improve our residents’ mobility and overall quality of life.
Schedule your tour with us today. We’re a pet-friendly community, so feel free to bring your older loved one’s pet too!
