As we age, our bodies start to deteriorate. Our muscles become weaker, our bones become brittle, and our ability to balance and remain upright decreases. Whether it is due to muscle weakness, physical ailments, or disabilities, or just age, balance is one of the things that is most affected. Of course, this is extremely dangerous, because as we will discuss below, balance issues can lead to injuries.
Anyone with trouble walking or suffering from general mobility issues due to old age is likely using a walker to get around. Walkers allow you to get around as you usually would while also providing something to lean on for assistance in balancing. In addition, most come with built-in seats so you can sit down when you get tired or feel like you need a break.
With all of that said, walkers are not perfect, and although they can help in terms of balance, mobility, and preventing falls, they are not perfect. Seniors with walkers can and do still fall and get injured. It is often due to a lack of balance, which may be exacerbated by using a walker in the first place, a cyclical issue we will discuss shortly.
As a senior with a walker, if you want to stay as mobile as possible and avoid falls and injuries, you should be doing some balance and mobility exercises. We will go over a few balance, strength, and flexibility exercises and discuss the importance of these exercises.
Why Do Seniors With Walkers Need to Do Balance Exercises?
You might be wondering why you would need to do exercises for balance if you’re using a walker to help you balance. This is because a walker is meant to be an aid to assist you in walking and balancing, but it really should not be the only thing you rely on to keep you mobile.
Although the scientific evidence is limited, it is thought that the more a person relies on a walker to balance, the lower their ability to balance on their own.
The less you use your body to balance over time, the less it will be able to do so. Therefore, these balance exercises are crucial to prevent seniors from becoming overly reliant on a walker for mobility.
In the United States alone, as many as 150 seniors are hospitalized every day with injuries directly related to falling when using a walker or a cane. Therefore, if the senior has not been adequately trained in using it, the walker is not the right size, or if a walker is not suitable, it can cause accidents to happen. Therefore, seniors with walkers must be able to balance as much as possible using their own power.
The Relation Between Strength, Balance, and Flexibility
Strength and flexibility are essential for balance. If your muscles are weak, it will significantly affect your ability to balance and stay upright. If your muscles are too weak to counterbalance your weight when needed, it can easily lead to a fall and injury.
On that same note, you need to be flexible enough to quickly move your leg and foot into a position that will prevent you from falling when required.
To be able to properly balance, you need to be both somewhat flexible and moderately strong. For the purpose of this article, we will talk about strength, flexibility, and balance exercises.
Safety Precautions for Seniors When Doing Balance Exercises
These balance exercises for seniors with walkers are not without their own risks. They require balance in themselves, so you must be safe and take the proper precautions when engaging in these exercises. However, before we get to talking about specific balance exercises, let’s cover some crucial safety tips.
- Any exercise that causes pain should be avoided. But, of course, there is a delicate balance here. A little bit of pain may be okay, but any more than a minimal amount is not acceptable.
- Always keep a chair nearby so you can sit down when needed. On that same note, place a non-slip chair directly behind you so that you can immediately sit down if you do slip or lose your balance.
- Using a gait belt for added safety can be beneficial if you are very wobbly and have trouble staying upright. A second person will hold you within the belt for extra support.
- Always make sure that the brakes on the walker are engaged, so it does not slip around as you put weight on it.
- Putting too much weight on the walker during these exercises needs to be avoided.
- If you are worried about the walker moving around, such as if it does not have brakes, place it against a wall or door.
The Best Balance Exercises for Seniors with Walkers
Now that we have all the preliminaries covered, let’s look at various exercises that will increase the strength, flexibility, and balance of seniors who use walkers.
1. Standing March
Standing directly in front of a chair, march in place, lifting your knees as high as possible. If you need to, you can hold your arms out to the side to assist you in balancing. Lift your right and left knees alternately until you have done 20 standing marches.
2. Side Leg Lift
For this exercise, lift one leg slowly out to the side, directly to the side, as high as you can lift it. In the beginning, you may want to hold onto something for assistance. Next, do 10 side leg lifts per side.
3. Rear Leg Lift
Lift your leg straight out to the back as far as possible, and then repeat this 20 times. Do 10 rear leg lifts per side.
4. Front Leg Lift
You did the side leg lift, the rear leg lift, and now you’re doing the front leg lift. As you can probably guess, instead of lifting your leg to the side or the back, raise it to the front. Now, this is one of the more difficult ones to do, so be careful. If you have severe balance issues, this might not be the best exercise.
5. Squats
One of the best exercises for balance and strength is the squat, particularly in the upper leg muscles. Stand with your feet at shoulder width, and very slowly squat down and back up. Do not squat so low that you can no longer lift back up; until you feel confident in your abilities, don’t dip down too low.
6. Rock and Roll
For this exercise, you need to have your walker’s brakes activated or have it against a wall. Then, holding onto your walker for assistance, raise up off the heels of your feet, so you are standing on your tippy-toes, then go back down, so your feet are flat, then slowly rock backward and place your weight on your heels, and then return to the original standing position.
7. Walker Lunges
Just like squats, lunges are great for strengthening the leg muscles that are crucial for balance. For walker lunges, simply hold onto your walker and slowly move forward with one leg. For instance, step forward with your right leg so that your right knee is bent and so that your left leg is extended backward, with your upper body dipping down. Just like with the squats, especially in the beginning, do not dip down too far.
Conclusion
There you have seven of the best balance exercises for seniors with walkers. First and foremost, safety should be the number one concern.