Arthritis Care at Home for Seniors

Arthritis is one of the most common ailments that seniors struggle with, and there are more than 100 kinds! This deterioration of the joint cartilage causes pain, inflammation and stiffness in the hinges the body needs to move and navigate through space. The At Home Personal Care team is trained to help seniors with arthritis improve their quality of life, safety and comfort. We can help you put these 4 tips in motion with your loved one who suffers from arthritis:

1. Staying Active with Arthritis

The prevailing research into senior arthritis care shows that maintaining activity daily is essential to helping people stay mobile, balanced and more limber. Of course, it can be hard to do that when you feel stiff and sore. Based on your loved one’s doctor’s recommendations, however, there are numerous gentle exercise activities that can help them feel better, including:

• Aqua aerobics
• Swimming
• Yoga
• Tai Chi
• Walking
• Dancing

These activities, done regularly (with a doctor’s recommendation) can improve your senior’s range of motion, alleviate pain and help them stay balanced and even improve mood.

Our At Home Personal Care team can drive your loved one to and from regular exercise classes—and stay to chat over coffee or tea awhile afterward too.

2. Home Safety and Arthritis

Seniors with arthritis often struggle with balance and navigation around the house. Our At Home Personal Care team can provide a home safety assessment to find ways to improve the safety and ergonomics of the home. We can help rearrange furniture, remove clutter and make the home much safer and easier to navigate, particularly if a walker, cane or other assistive devices are necessary. We can spot trip hazards and remove them and help you make sure all areas are well lit for nighttime navigation too.

3. Nutrition and Arthritis

More and more research is being done into the link between arthritis and nutrition. In fact, many health problems that our senior loved ones struggle with can be at least somewhat alleviated with proper nutritional support. To make life better, we have an arthritis care team who works with seniors on healthy meal preparation and nutritional choices. We understand that food preferences can be hard to break, so we know a lot of recipes that can incorporate these healthy arthritis-alleviating foods in delicious ways. Some of the best foods we know about currently for arthritis include:

• Foods high in omega-3 fatty acids (certain fish, flax seed, chia, hemp, etc.)
• Organic soy products like edamame and tofu
• Healthy oils (extra virgin olive oil, walnut oil, avocado oil)
• Cherries
• Vitamin D-rich foods like dairy and leafy greens
• Broccoli
• Green tea
• Citrus fruits
• Whole grains
• Beans and lentils
• Garlic
• Nuts like pistachios, almonds and walnuts

4. Daily Living Assistance for Arthritis

What used to be simple task like buttoning clothes or brushing teeth can become painful and difficult with arthritis. Our At Home Personal Care arthritis care team can not only help with difficult daily living problems, but we have all kinds of “life hacks” and solutions to make these tasks easier to do. This will boost your loved one’s sense of independence and happiness as we help them do as much as they can do, as independently as possible.

If you have a loved one struggling through days of stiff, painful joints and limited mobility, there is hope for a better quality of life with help from our arthritis care team! Contact At Home Personal Care today by calling us at (703) 330-2323 or fill-out our Contact Form for personalized help!