Practical Tips You Can Use for Elderly Home Care
(Be sure to read How Important is Movement and OT/PT Exercises for Elderly Patients?)
When patients return home after hospitalization or rehabilitation, the crucial work of recovery often begins. Adhering to OT and PT exercises, which are carefully designed and tailored to meet patient needs, restore function and prevent further decline, is vital.
Lack of adherence to OT/PT exercises can increase the risk of rehospitalization and exacerbate chronic conditions such as cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and arthritis. Thus, the cycle of poor adherence and subsequent health decline underscores the critical need for effective strategies to ensure patients maintain their exercise routines post-discharge.
In-home caregivers incorporating an integrated holistic approach represent one of the most valuable assets in maintaining physical activity among older adults, particularly those recovering from illness or hospitalization. Their consistent presence and support can transform occasional exercise into sustainable habits and help alleviate the challenges to adhering to prescribed OT/PT exercises, which is crucial to seniors’ well-being and health outcomes.
Helpful Tips and Steps You Can Take:
Collaborate with Healthcare Professionals
Optimal support requires collaboration between private-duty or family caregivers and clinical professionals. Expert guidance and open communication with therapists about progress and challenges are vital. It is also essential to request clear demonstrations of exercises and hands-on training. This will ensure exercises are approached and completed accurately and safely.
Written instructions with pictures for reference are helpful, and seeking guidance on appropriate adaptations for good and bad days is necessary. Reporting changes in condition that might necessitate exercise modifications ensures that support remains effective and tailored to the individual’s needs.
Building Motivation Through Meaningful Goals
Regular physical activity supports long-term health and independence beyond immediate recovery. Creating sustainable exercise habits requires respecting autonomy while providing appropriate support.
Connect Activity to Personal Meaning
Link exercises to meaningful outcomes that matter to the individual, such as visiting grandchildren or tending a garden. Celebrate progress regularly and explicitly connect exercises to these valued activities. Adjust goals as capabilities change to maintain appropriate challenge levels.
Frame Activity Positively
How caregivers discuss physical activity significantly impacts participation. Use encouraging rather than directive language, focusing on strengths and abilities instead of limitations. Offer choices within necessary activities, acknowledge effort over perfect execution, and frame exercise as self-care rather than medical treatment when possible.
Creating a Supportive Exercise Environment
Caregivers can establish conditions that make movement more accessible and appealing:
1. Establishing routine: Creating consistent times for exercise helps establish habits and expectations.
2. Preparing space: Ensuring adequate room, removing hazards, and arranging necessary equipment makes exercise safer and more accessible.
3. Managing comfort: As healthcare providers recommend, address pain before exercise through proper medication timing or applying heat/cold.
4. Setting the emotional tone: Approaching exercise with positivity and patience reduces anxiety and builds confidence.
5. Breaking down barriers: Identifying and addressing obstacles as they arise keeps momentum.
Effectively Encourage OT/PT Exercises
A study in the Journal of Physical Therapy Science found that patients with caregiver support during home exercise programs showed 43% greater improvement in functional outcomes compared to those exercising independently. Caregivers can provide various levels of support for therapeutic exercises. This includes:
Physical assistance:
• Providing necessary stability during balance exercises
• Offering tactile cues to engage specific muscle groups
• Assisting with proper positioning and alignment
• Helping with resistance or range adjustments as needed
Monitoring and feedback:
• Observing exercise form and technique
• Watching for signs of fatigue or distress
• Tracking progress and improvements
• Encouraging effort and achievements
Practical support:
• Setting up equipment or exercise space
• Managing exercise logs or tracking sheets
• Communicating with therapy providers about challenges
• Adapting exercises as directed by healthcare providers
Integrating Movement Into Daily Life
Incorporating movement and activity into regular life routines allows seniors to stay physically and cognitively fit beyond formal exercise sessions. Caregivers can encourage natural movement throughout daily activities:
1. Purposeful engagement: Involve seniors in household tasks like folding laundry, light gardening, or meal preparation.
2. Environmental arrangement: Strategically place frequently used items to encourage reaching, bending, or walking.
3. Social movement: Combine activity with social interaction through walking conversations or seated exercise groups.
4. Breaking up sedentary time: Encourage position changes or brief movement breaks every 30-60 minutes.
5. Leveraging interests: Connect movement to enjoyable activities and hobbies or interests, such as dancing to favorite music or walking to tend plants.
A Positive Mindset For Positive Outcomes
Regular movement is crucial for older adults. It goes far beyond physical strength and represents a critical intervention for maintaining independence, cognitive function, and quality of life. For those recovering from illness or hospitalization, adherence to prescribed OT/PT exercises can determine whether they regain former capabilities or face a new normal of increased dependency.
In-home caregivers stand at the intersection of clinical recommendations and daily reality, uniquely positioned to support consistent physical activity that prevents deconditioning and promotes recovery. Through knowledgeable assistance, environmental support, and movement integration into daily routines, caregivers can help transform prescribed exercises from medical requirements into sustainable habits that enhance quality of life holistically for those in their care.
Ensure Proper Nourishment
Ensuring senior patients are properly nourished is essential to overall health and critical to providing the body with the building blocks it needs for recovery from injury or illness. Nutrition is vital to physical health, including energy levels, balance, and more, but it also impacts emotional health and well-being. Be sure elderly and adult patients receive the nourishment they need through health and medically appropriate meals and snacks. Learn some practical tips for healthy eating and ways caregivers can ensure proper nourishment for memory care patients in our blog articles.
References
Lee IF, Yau FN, Yim SS, Lee DT. Evaluating the impact of a home-based rehabilitation service on older people and their caregivers: a matched-control quasi-experimental study. Clin Interv Aging. 2018 Sep 12;13:1727-1737. doi: 10.2147/CIA.S172871. PMID: 30254432; PMCID: PMC6140694.
Covinsky, K. E., Palmer, R. M., Fortinsky, R. H., Counsell, S. R., Stewart, A. L., Kresevic, D., … & Landefeld, C. S. (2003). Loss of independence in activities of daily living in older adults hospitalized with medical illnesses: increased vulnerability with age. Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, 51(4), 451-458.
Forkan, R., Pumper, B., Smyth, N., Wirkkala, H., Ciol, M. A., & Shumway-Cook, A. (2006). Exercise adherence following physical therapy intervention in older adults with impaired balance. Physical Therapy, 86(3), 401-410.
American Physical Therapy Association. (2019). Physical therapy guide to healthy aging. APTA.
Piercy, K. L., Troiano, R. P., Ballard, R. M., Carlson, S. A., Fulton, J. E., Galuska, D. A., & Olson, R. D. (2018). The physical activity guidelines for Americans. JAMA, 320(19), 2020-2028.