Millions of aging adults experience a hip fracture every year. But you still probably don’t expect it will happen to your senior. The good news is that by being aware and putting in place a plan, you may reduce your senior’s likelihood of experiencing a hip fracture herself.
Discuss Risk Factors with Her Doctor
If your senior hasn’t already, make sure she talks to her doctor about the risk factors that she’s facing. There may be some risk factors, like declining vision, that your senior can’t do much about. Others, like loss of muscle tone, can be changed with the right plan. Obviously, it’s important she knows what she’s up against.
Re-evaluate Fitness and Diet Plans
Much of preventing a hip fracture depends on both your senior’s activity level and her diet. If her diet is not full of good nutrition, including lots of vitamins and minerals, she might be more at risk of having weakened bones. Making some changes to her diet, especially with the help of senior home care providers if cooking is too difficult, can make a huge difference. If her doctor clears your senior to exercise, that’s important, too.
Do a Safety Sweep
It’s vital to do a periodic safety sweep of your senior’s home. If you’re not sure what to look for, senior home care providers can be a tremendous help. The things you want to look out for are anything that could cause a tripping hazard, like clutter or damaged rugs. Swapping out light bulbs for brighter versions is just one way to make your senior’s home safer.
Encourage Your Senior to Use Assistive Devices
If your elderly family member already has assistive devices, like a walker or cane, she needs to use these tools. That’s especially important if her mobility is declining rather than improving. Given that, senior home care providers can help remind your senior to use these devices consistently.
Make Sure She’s Got the Help She Needs
There may be other ways your elderly family member needs a little extra help. Therefore, work with senior home care providers to cover all the bases for your senior. They can offer assistance with everything from companionship to ensuring that your elderly family member can safely bathe every day. If your senior is reluctant to accept help, talk with her about why she’s resisting that idea.
Plan for Emergencies Now
The reality is that your senior may fall and break a hip, so it’s important to know what you’re going to do if that should happen. Talk to your senior’s doctor about what the plan should be and what you should have in place, just in case the worst should happen. Hopefully, you’ll never need that plan, but it’s always better to be prepared.
You may not completely prevent a broken hip for your elderly family member, but putting these tips to work for her can help reduce that risk factor by a big percentage.
If you or an aging loved one is considering Senior Home Care in Westmont, IL, please contact the caring staff at Suburban Home Care today. 630-964-9000
There are several great reasons why Suburban Home Care® should be your choice for quality homecare. All of our Certified Nursing Assistants and Home Health Aides are screened, trained, bonded and insured.
Every family needs to be aware that almost every Homeowner’s insurance policy specifically excludes anyone working within your home. If the person you hire becomes injured while working for you, you will become personally responsible for all of their medical bills. This has left several families very vulnerable when their caregiver injured themselves at their home.
The potential to lose everything you have worked so hard to achieve seems an unnecessary risk. Every one of Suburban Home Care®’s employees are completely covered by insurance so you and your loved ones can relax knowing that if something unforeseen happens to your caregiver, they are completely covered by insurance.
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