Many senior citizens suffer from knee and joint issues. You might hear your elderly loved one complaining of pain in their wrists, elbows, or knees. You might also hear them saying their shoulders or hips hurt. If you are caring for your elderly loved one, it would be beneficial to learn about some of the many knee and joint health tips that could help your loved one feel better.  

Managing Their Weight 

One of the many things that your elderly loved one could do to improve the health of their knees and joints is to manage their weight. When someone is even 5 lbs overweight, this could put extra stress on their joints. You can look at online calculators to see how much your elderly loved one should weigh based on their age and height. You can also ask your elderly loved one’s doctor how much they should weigh. If your elderly loved one needs to lose weight, some of the ways they can do this include the following: 

• Doing cardio exercises for 150 minutes every week (walking, using a stationary bike, or biking outside are all great options) 
• Eating healthier foods on a daily basis (tracking calories is a great idea, too) 
• Move throughout the day (not all at once) 

If your elderly loved one does these things, they may find their joints are healthier and don’t hurt as much.  

Posture Correction 

Your elderly loved one might also need to focus on their posture. If they are constantly bending forward, this could be putting a lot of weight onto their hips. It could also put excess weight on their knees. Some of the posture correction tips that your elderly loved one might benefit from include the following: 

• Straightening the spine when standing and sitting 
• Doing yoga stretches and other stretches throughout the day 

If you and home health care providers encourage your elderly loved one to do these things regularly, it could help to reduce the pain in their joints significantly.  

Do More Strength Training 

Strength training is another great way for your elderly loved one to maintain or improve their joint health. There is a lot of research that shows strength training exercises can help to prevent achy joints. Some of the strength training tips that could help your elderly loved one include the following: 

• Start by lifting smaller weights (slowly increasing over time) 
• Always do these exercises with a home health care provider or family caregiver (this can help to prevent injury) 
• Eat a lot of proteins to help build muscle (this can take excess pressure off the joints) 
• Do water-based strength training 

By following through with these tips, your elderly loved one can feel less pain in their joints and keep their joints healthier, as well.  

Conclusion 

These are just some of the knee and joint health tips that could help senior citizens. If you are caring for your elderly loved one, be sure you and their home health care providers encourage them to do these things.  

If you or an aging loved-one is considering home health care in Westshore, FL please contact the caring staff at Healthy Services Of Tampa, Inc today. 813-932-9922 

Sources 

https://www.betterhealth.vic.gov.au/health/conditionsandtreatments/ageing-muscles-bones-and-joints

https://www.aarp.org/health/conditions-treatments/info-2019/knee-health-tips.html