Arthritic pain is something that your senior may be experiencing far more often, but why is it happening at all? There are so many potential causes for arthritis and your senior is most likely dealing with more than one of them.
Hereditary Factors
Genetics plays a big role in most aspects of your elderly family members life and health. If shes got family members who had arthritis, especially rheumatoid arthritis, shes more likely to experience the condition herself. Theres only so much that your senior can do to avoid arthritis if hereditary factors are strong.
Being Overweight
With joints that are injured, even a little bit of extra weight can put way too much stress on them. Talking to your senior about her diet might convince her to make some small changes that give her bigger results than she expects. Talk to her doctor about whether exercise is a good idea for her and what the best type of exercise is. Encourage her to start out slowly and to find exercises that she enjoys.
Old Injuries
Damage to joints is one of the most common causes of arthritis and arthritis pain. Old injuries may have healed, and healed very well, but that damage can later be a cause of stress for the body. If your senior experienced multiple injuries to a particular area or joint, that just ups the risk of arthritis developing.
Repetitive Stress
Repetitive motions, like the ones used in sports or even in daily activities like typing, can put strain on joints and ligaments, too. Over time that can mean that arthritis eventually forms. If your senior always does a particular activity with one hand, like always opening a jar with her right hand, it can help to encourage her to use her other hand.
Just Getting Older
Its also important to know that just getting older can be enough to put your senior at risk of developing arthritis. Just using her body over the course of her life puts stress and strain on every part of her body. All of these other factors contribute, too, so its difficult to put the blame on just one cause.
Regardless of why your elderly family member is dealing with arthritis, its important that she takes steps to take care of her body. One of the best things that she can do, besides continuing to use her joints as well as she can, is to know when to rest. Having the help of elder care providers on a regular basis can make that easier for your senior.
If you or an aging loved one are considering elder care in Burnsville, MN, and the surrounding areas, please contact the friendly staff at CareBuilders at Home Minnesota. Call today 612-260-2273.
