Maintaining balance gets harder with age, which is why slips and falls are common among seniors. Unfortunately, when these incidents happen, they can disrupt seniors’ quality of life. With this in mind, seniors need to work on improving their balance. Doing so means understanding the underlying causes of balance issues as well. For seniors, having the support of senior home care providers and loved ones helps them gain the information they need and take the necessary steps toward better balance.
What Causes Balance Issues?
Seniors’ balance issues could be caused by a number of things. For instance, sensory deterioration, which includes declining hearing, vision, and proprioception (the awareness of one’s bodily position), has an impact on balance. It can also result from joint issues like arthritis, which causes pain, limited motion, and muscular weakness, especially in the legs.
Imbalance can also be a result of medical diseases. Both balance and coordination are impacted by neurological conditions such as peripheral neuropathy, multiple sclerosis, and Parkinson’s disease. Additionally, seniors might get dizzy and feel unsteady when struggling with cardiovascular problems, such as poor circulation, high or low blood pressure, and heart ailments. Vestibular disorders like Meniere’s disease, labyrinthitis, and benign paroxysmal positional vertigo (BPPV) may also have an impact on the inner ear’s balancing systems.
Another significant issue is the negative effects of medication. The use of several medications at once raises the possibility of adverse effects, such as lightheadedness and dizziness. Additionally, certain medications can have a direct impact on balance, including sedatives, antidepressants, and antihypertensives.
Beyond these, it’s important to think about how seniors’ environments might also impact their balance. Things like cluttered or slippery floors due to not being cleaned regularly can quickly become issues. Also, dim lighting can make seniors untrusting of their surroundings, which causes hesitancy that could lead to them being off-balance. In these situations, senior home care can be a tremendous help, as they can complete household tasks and encourage seniors to declutter their spaces.
Finally, psychological factors, such as worry and fear of falling, cause seniors to move more reluctantly and with a cautious gait, which actually increases their imbalance and could result in falls. In other words, their worrying about falling might be the culprit.
Incorporating Remedies and Preventive Actions
Seniors with balance issues require a variety of interventions and safeguards. Frequent exercise is essential, with an emphasis on balancing exercises like yoga and tai chi, strength training for the legs and core, and flexibility exercises to preserve joint health and mobility. Senior home care can help them with this by encouraging them to create and maintain a workout plan or transporting them to group fitness classes.
Medicine management is also crucial, especially if it’s thought that seniors’ medications might be at the heart of their balance issues. While the physician might not be able to change the prescription, they may be able to provide valuable tips to help reduce it.
Also, seniors need to wear appropriate footwear. This means they should avoid loose slippers and opt for shoes with strong arch support and non-slip soles. If necessary, they may also need to use assistive devices if balance issues continue.
There are many different things that can affect a senior’s balance. The good news is that seniors can keep their independence, enhance their balance, and lower their risk of falling by understanding what might be causing their balance issues and incorporating the tips and tricks they learn from senior home care and their medical team.
Sources: https://meetcaregivers.com/balance-problems-in-seniors
https://www.webmd.com/healthy-aging/what-causes-balance-issues-in-older-adults
https://www.healthinaging.org/a-z-topic/balance-problems/causes
If you or an aging loved one are considering Senior Home Care Services in Summit NJ, please contact the caring staff at Helping Hands Homecare today. Call (908) 418-4299
Helping Hands Homecare provides Senior Home Care Services throughout Northern and Central New Jersey, including Clark, Westfield, Cranford, Scotch Plains, Rahway, Linden, Summit, Edison, Elizabeth, Mountainside, Short Hills, Millburn, New Providence, Berkeley Heights, Kenilworth, Chatham, Madison, Metuchen, and surrounding areas.
After graduating from Seton Hall University with a BS in finance Helping Hands Homecare’s Owner / President, Robert D’Arienzo, went to work on Wall St. for six years. However, after Robert’s grandmother became ill with stomach cancer Robert and his family needed to find assistance in the home for her. After many trials and tribulations Robert could see that there was a great need for quality home care services here in NJ and loved the idea of being able to assist other families who were going through what his family went through with his beloved grandmother.
Thus, Robert had found his passion. After almost a year of preparation Robert opened Helping Hands Homecare in 2003. Robert wanted Helping Hands Homecare to focus on providing the highest quality of caregivers, exceptional customer service, and providing a service that familys could depend on in their time of need. Since then Helping Hands has assisted hundreds of individuals with the simplest of needs to more complex cases while preserving those standards set out many years ago.
Robert is a Google Verified Author
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