I remember when my son turned 10 months old and it was a time for me to “Child Proof” my home. Deja vu …it happened again when my in laws moved in with us and we had to “Fall Proof” our home. My father-in-law had two falls and was diagnosed with Parkinson’s Disease. We needed to make certain that our house was a safe zone! As a physical therapist, my first action was to create a safe environment in our home.
Patient’s with Parkinson’s Disease have shuffling gait, they have difficulty picking up their feet to clear the ground while walking. We removed rugs from the floor, added a hand rail for him to climb steps safely to enter the home independently. With diminished eyesight balance gets compromised, so we added some bright night lights in the passage from his room to the bathroom.
The next place where falls happen most is the bathroom. Our solution was to put suction grab bars near tub for him to be able to go in and out of the tub safely, and put a bath mat in the tub to prevent slipping. One of the difficulties Grandfather had was to stand with eyes closed while washing his hair and to be able to clean his lower body while standing. Our solution was to add a Shower chair solved this problem.
It is very interesting for me to see how children and grandparents get along so well. There were times when grandparents watched over and helped grandchildren when they were young. Now it becomes the grandchildren’s turn to help grandparents when they need help to achieve Healthy Aging. Gait speed; a screening measure reflective of both physical and cognitive function is considered the fifth vital sign. It decreases with aging and has direct correlation with longevity. Walking and being around active young children requires one to be able to keep up their gait speed and thus helps to improve a grandparent’s gait speed too!
Contact WWSPT to learn more about Healthy Aging and and Physical Therapy Tips.
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