Walkers for the elderly: how to encourage them to use them?
Walkers for the elderly: how to convince our loved ones that it is the best choice and who to contact to find the most suitable one.
Deciding to use a walker is never an easy choice for the elderly, who see this support as an uncomfortable encumbrance that officially marks the transition to old age and constitutes the first step towards the loss of independence. But how to make them understand that it is instead a useful tool to safeguard precisely their autonomy? Let's find out together.
The main reasons why elderly people do not accept walkers
Let's try to put ourselves in their shoes to understand how this choice can be a real trauma for the elderly: people who tend to be fragile, insecure and, above all, habit-forming. As already mentioned, using a walker represents the realisation that they are no longer the people they used to be. Accepting that one's body is no longer as solid and stable as it once was could be experienced as a defeat.
The consequences could be the feeling of being a burden on one's children and the worry of no longer be able to perform simple daily activities. In short, adopting a baby walker is a practical change that brings with it emotional and psychological implications. Feeling constrained is certainly not the best state of mind to welcome such a change.
The advantages of using a walker for the elderly
On the other hand, there are good arguments that could convince our loved ones to accept more positively the use of a walking support.
First of all a walker can avert the risk of disastrous falls. We must make our elderly understand that, beyond a certain age, the inability to move with agility could lead to accidents with long-term consequences. Indeed, a fall could result in a broken femur or fractured hips with sometimes fatal outcomes.
In addition, if one has faced a period of long hospitalisation or immobilisation due to an operation or trauma, the walker could be the right support to invigorate leg muscle mass (by definition more fragile in the elderly) and regain their autonomy.
And it is precisely autonomy that is the third lever on which to make our loved ones think: to be able to walk and move around both inside and outside their homes again. help maintain social relations and habits as usual who would otherwise be lost, confined indoors. We try to explain to them how the inability to leave the house would also inevitably limit the possibility of spending time with their beloved grandchildren.
A final argument is that, unfortunately, immobility causes circulatory complications that could lead to sores, aggravated by infection.
Who to turn to in order to convince our loved ones
We have already listed some of them, but another typical characteristic as one gets older is obstinacy. And even in this case, despite the good reasons given, this tendency may prevail.
Why not turn then to someone outside the family? Perhaps a professional such as the physiotherapist who looks after our elderly loved one. The presence of an expert could also instil more confidence and optimism in the recipient who might then be persuaded to at least try the walker.
Try to put these tips into practice, always with the right patience and delicacy that the subject requires. Once we have convinced our family member to use a walker, then it will be time to buy one.
M.I.A. Medical: walkers for the elderly for sale and hire
If you have come to terms for a trial period with the walker and are not sure about buying it before the final verdict, then you might consider renting. M.I.A. Medical is a leader in medical aids and, thanks to his extensive experience and trusted, professional advice, will be able to advise you on the best walker for your needs. There are in fact various models of baby walkers: from those for indoor use to those with swivel wheels, to those that can also be used as transit buggies. Again, this is not a decision to be taken lightly as choosing an unsuitable model could also result in risky falls.
For the rental or purchase of a walker for the elderly Rely on the expertise of M.I.A. Medical by calling freephone 800 031 962 or 3936509237 / [email protected]