After an illness or accident and feeling so bad, once patients are on the mend and able to resume some activities, they want to get out of the hospital or house.  Maybe they are a little weak yet, or just need a little extra boost.  DME’s mobility product line offers selections to fit your needs and your budget.  They offer Nova Rolling Walkers in several different styles and prices, as well as regular walkers.  Check out their walker accessories, from travel bags, pouches, drink holders and baskets, all designed to let you go more places and stay a little longer.

Walker Basket

A seat lift can make a huge difference in comfort levels not only for elderly folks, but can be a life saver for patients recovering from hip, knee or leg surgery.  Often times muscle and tendon have been cut and weakened, and sitting and rising ability is limited.  The seat lift can provide just the upward nudge you need.  Additionally during recovery times nutrition sometimes suffers.  That’s where a nutritional supplement such as Ensure can bridge the gap providing nutrients to help the body heal.

Walkers and canes are sometimes called mobility aids. This is a fancy way of saying, Let’s get out of this place, go somewhere and do something. A well made rolling walker makes it possible for many people to enjoy the world outside of four walls and feel empowered by joining in everyday events. Nova walkers are excellent at combining stability with ease and range of motion. They are light, maneuverable, and designed to brake by weight instead of manual strength. Excellent choices so everyone has options and can plan their days accordingly.

Three things come to mind when we think of caring for the elderly. Nova walkers help with one of those, and that is mobility. It is very important for people to retain as much independence as possible. Another is comfort. When it comes to keeping comfortable, products like seat lifts are simply wonderful. You would be amazed at how much easier just having the right tools makes life. The third concern is nutrition, and you will find things here to help with that as well.

Walking aids such as canes and rolling walkers can extend the mobility of patients who need a bit of extra help getting around. Nova walkers such as the Nova Cruiser Deluxe are sturdy and are made with wheels to provide that extra support that patients need to get moving … and stay moving. They’re what you need to keep mobility an option in patients who would have been confined to nursing or rehabilitation homes.

Swollen feet, sometimes called edema, is a condition where the muscles in the feet have an excessive fluid buildup. Gravity pulls the fluid to your ankles and feet.

Swelling can be a symptom of a serious problem, a sports injury, pregnancy, heart disease, fluid retention, kidney problems or another condition. If your feet swell chronically see your doctor.

Slight swelling of the lower legs commonly occurs in warm summer months. Slight swelling is more likely to occur if a person has been standing or walking a lot.

Traditional treatment might include any or all of these suggestions:

• Elevate your feet and legs. Place a pillow under your heels, and prop your feet on a chair or high stool. Use a leg wedge to elevate while sleeping.
• Dip your feet into a tub of cold water or sit on the side of the bath with your feet under a cold-water tap. After this put your feet up for a while.
• Reduce your salt intake. Salt causes you to retain water.
• Do not abuse laxatives.
• Take diuretics if prescribed by your doctor. Diuretics increase urination by pulling excess fluid out of your cellular tissues.
• Practice good health habits. Proper nutrition and daily exercise improve the health of your cardiovascular system and your circulation, helping to reduce the tendency of your feet to swell.
• Wear support socks or stockings and well fitting shoes.

People who have difficulty with mobility face many everyday challenges. For some, walking may be the problem. For others, steps are a problem. Some may need extra support or a wheelchair, while others may be able to stand and walk but only for a short time.

Space Requirements

Your specific mobility needs determine your living and work space requirements and furniture arrangements. For example, a person using a wheelchair needs about 5 feet to turn. Narrows hallways leading into rooms are nearly impossible for these people to maneuver through, as are doorways less than 32 inches wide. People who use crutches and walkers also require extra room for movement.

Installing sliding doors, which move out of the way and require less effort to get around, is one way to improve your living and work spaces. Removing doors on closets and cupboards is another important improvement if you have difficulty maneuvering.

Ways to Carry Items

If you are on crutches or use a walker, you are likely to have difficulty carrying items. A sturdy cart may be used to load dishes, appliances, or other tools and may serve as support when walking. If this method does not work, try attaching baskets to the crossbar of your walker or, if you are on crutches, carrying a bag over your shoulder. If you use a wheelchair, a lapboard enables you to transport several articles at one time.

How low can you reach comfortably and still maintain your balance? How high? How far in front and to the sides? Answering these questions will help you determine the best places to store frequently used articles. If you cannot reach the floor, for example, you should store your clothes in the middle and upper drawers of your bureau. Tong-type gadgets, which are available in various lengths and weights, extend your reach. A wooden stick with a magnet on the end enables you to retrieve metal objects without bending.

More tips for reaching and storing items:

• Hang pegboards on which to store equipment and utensils.
• Install Lazy Susans, pullout drawers, and open shelving. Many variations of these accessories are available in stores.
• Attach long handles on dustpans and brooms to pick up trash from either a sitting or standing position.
• Install electrical outlets on the front of cabinets at a convenient height.

Counters

If you use a wheelchair, you may find counters in the home to be too high. From a sitting position, most people find a 29- to 31-inch-high counter to be most comfortable. Because many people generally use the same work space, lowering all the counters would be uncomfortable for some workers.

You might install one work surface or table of a suitable height for you and use tabletop appliances, such as an electric skillet, in place of the range. Counters or tables with open areas underneath allow you to pull your wheelchair closer and reduce strain on your back and shoulders.

If you use crutches or a walker, you may find it convenient to have a high stool handy for sitting while you work. A mirror mounted at the back of the range and tilted to reflect the inside of pans is also helpful.

Choosing Appliance Features

You will probably find appliances with controls in the front most convenient. This eliminates the need to lean across the range, washer, etc., to set the dials.

Microwave ovens offer many advantages, including a shallow cooking cavity; side opening doors; and a cool interior, which minimizes your chances of burning yourself.

Side-by-side refrigerator/freezers reduce maneuvering around the doors. Water and ice dispensers located within the doors are also helpful.

Self-cleaning ovens eliminate another difficult task.

In the laundry area, front loading equipment is easier to reach from a wheelchair if the equipment is raised on a platform. For those who use walkers or crutches, top-loading appliances may be easier to use. Tongs will help to reach into the top-loading machines if bending or reaching is a problem.

Small changes in how you perform tasks and simple adaptations can make your life easier and increase your independence.

In 2004, the most recent year statistics are available, almost 15,000 people 65 and older died from falls and about 1.9 million were treated for injuries in emergency rooms, said Judy Stevens, an epidemiologist with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

“I think the magnitude of the problem is something that people don’t recognize,” Stevens said. “It really is a serious issue for older adults.”

Making sure that people over the age of 65 know how to avoid falling or being injured by a fall is the goal of a campaign launched this month by the National Athletic Trainers’ Association and American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons.

The organizations say in addition to exercise, older people can make their homes safer by installing night lights, bathroom grab bars and slip- resistant floors.

“If we continue to exercise, especially strength training, we decrease the loss of bone density. Just by working on strength training, you’re working your muscles to keep strong,” said Joe Scott, a NATA member who is outpatient orthopedic team leader for Southcoast Hospitals Group in New Bedford, Mass.
Scott said that as people get older, they’re less active so they lose strength. Also, sight and balance problems can creep in.

Stevens also said it’s a good idea for older people to have a doctor review their medicines each year to look for things like drug interactions that could lead to dizziness.

Experts say certain exercises — yoga, tai chi, and trying to balance on one leg with your eyes closed — can help improve balance.

If a younger person slips, they’ll usually catch themselves, but older people often have less strength and slower reaction times, experts say.

Injuries from falls in the elderly can include broken wrists, elbows, arms and hips, said Dr. Jay Mabrey, chief of orthopedics at Baylor University Medical Center in Dallas.

Low back pain can affect the back anywhere below the ribs and above the legs. The lower back is the connection between the upper and lower body, and it bears most of the body’s weight. Because of these roles, it is easily injured when you lift, reach, or twist.

Almost everyone has low back pain at one time or another. The good news is that most low back pain will go away in a few weeks with some basic self-care. But if your pain is severe or lasts more than a couple of weeks, see your doctor.

Low back pain is often caused by overuse, strain, or injury. For instance, people often hurt their backs playing sports or working in the yard, being jolted in a car accident, or lifting something too heavy. It is more likely to become long-lasting (chronic) if you are under stress or depressed.

Depending on the cause, low back pain can cause a range of symptoms. It may:

•  Be dull, burning, or sharp.
• Be felt at a single point or over a broad area.
• Come on gradually or suddenly.
• Occur with muscle spasms or stiffness.
• Cause leg symptoms, such as pain, numbness, or tingling, often extending below the knee. These symptoms can occur on their own or along with low back pain. Leg symptoms are often caused by lower spine problems that place pressure on a nerve that leads to the leg.

A rare but serious problem called cauda equina syndrome can occur if the nerves at the end of the spinal cord are squeezed. Seek emergency treatment if you have weakness or numbness in both legs, along with loss of bladder or bowel control.Doctors say back pain is:

•  Acute if a spell (or episode) of pain lasts less than 3 months. Most back pain is acute and goes away with 4 to 6 weeks of home treatment.
• Recurrent if acute symptoms come back. Most people have at least one episode of recurrent low back pain.
• Chronic if your back bothers you most of the time for longer than 3 months.