Senior Fitness and Exercise Tips for Frail Chair-bound Seniors: VIDEO

If you are chair-bound, movement matters even more, and fitness is entirely achievable. Chair-bound seniors can reap the benefits of exercise with strength training, flexibility, and even some endurance movements. If being chair-bound has prevented you from trying exercise in the past, take heart knowing that when you become more physically active, the results will amaze you. Like any exercise program, a chair-bound fitness routine takes a little creativity and personalization. Ready for a new you? Check out the following chair-bound fitness tips.

• Strength: Use free weights (otherwise known as “dumbbells”) to do repetitive sets of lifting. Don’t have weights? Use anything that is weighted and fits in your hand, like soup cans.
• Resistance: Resistance bands are like giant rubber bands designed to give your muscles a good workout when stretched and pulled. Resistance bands can be attached to furniture, a doorknob, or even your chair. Use these for pull-downs, shoulder rotations, and arm and leg-extensions.
• Flexibility: By practicing mindful breathing and slowly stretching, bending, and twisting, you can limber up and improve your range of motion. Some of these exercises can also be done lying down! Ask your doctor or search online for chair-yoga possibilities.
• Endurance: Check out pool-therapy programs designed for wheelchair bound seniors. Also, wheelchair-training machines make arm-bicycling and rowing possible. If you lack access to special machines or pools, repetitive movements (like rapid leg lifts or sitting pushups) work just as well to raise your heart rate. Your doctor will have more ideas.

Here's a great example of Chair Aerobics for Seniors:

 

Talk to your doctor or physical therapist for about chair bound exercise programs. The Internet is a valuable resource for more fitness ideas.

Senior Fitness and Exercise: Tips For A Balanced Exercise Plan

Staying active is not a science. Just remember that mixing different types of exercise helps both reduce monotony and improve your overall health. Here is an overview of the four building blocks of senior fitness and how they can help your body.

1^st Senior Fitness building block: Cardio endurance exercise

• What is it: Uses large muscle groups in rhythmic motions over a period of time. This type of exercise increases your body’s ability to deliver oxygen and nutrients to tissues and to remove waste over sustained periods of time. Cardio workouts get your heart pumping and you may even feel a little short of breath.

• Why it’s good for seniors: Helps lessen fatigue and shortness of breath. Promotes independence by improving endurance for daily activities such as walking, house cleaning, and errands. Cardio includes walking, stair climbing, swimming, hiking, cycling, rowing, tennis, and dancing.

2nd Senior Fitness building block: Strength training

• What is it: Builds up muscle with repetitive motion using weight or external resistance from body weight, machines, or elastic bands.

• Why it’s good for seniors: Helps elderly people prevent loss of bone mass, builds muscle, and improves balance—both important in staying active and preventing risk of falling. Building up strength will help seniors stay independent and make day-to-day activities easier such as opening a jar, getting in and out of a car, and lifting objects.

3rd Senior Fitness building block: Flexibility

• What is it: Challenges the joint’s ability to move freely through a full range of motion (ROM). Can be done through static stretches (stationary), and ballistic stretches (moving or bouncing) to keep muscles and joints supple so they are less prone to injury.

• Why it’s good for seniors: Helps body stay limber and increases range of movement for ordinary physical activities such as looking behind you while driving, tying shoes, shampooing your hair, and playing with grandchildren.

4th Senior Fitness building block: Balance

• What is it: Maintains standing and stability under a variety of conditions including static (stationary) and dynamic (moving) balance.

• Why it’s good for seniors: Improves balance, posture, and quality of walking. Also reduces risk of falling and fear of falls. Try yoga, Tai Chi, and posture exercises to gain confidence with balance.

5 Myths about Senior Fitness and Older Adult Exercise

Have you heard exercise is important for older adults, but don’t know where to begin? You’re not alone. Many seniors feel discouraged by fitness barriers, such as chronic health conditions or concerns about injury or falls.

If you’ve never exercised before, you may not know where to begin. Or maybe an ongoing health problem or disability is keeping you from getting active. Perhaps you think you’re too old or frail. As you age, regular exercise is more important than ever to your body and mind.

Don't Let These 5 Senior Fitness Myths Derail Your Health

Myth 1: There’s no point to exercising. I’m going to get old anyway. (Or I'm already old)

Fact: Exercise and strength training helps you look and feel younger and stay active longer. Exercise is the key to healthy aging! Regular physical activity lowers your risk for a variety of conditions, including Alzheimer’s and dementia, heart disease, diabetes, colon cancer, high blood pressure, and obesity.

Myth 2: Elderly people shouldn’t exercise. They should save their strength and rest.

Fact: Exercise actually gives you energy. Research shows that a sedentary lifestyle is unhealthy for the elderly. Period. Inactivity often causes seniors to lose the ability to do things on their own and can lead to more hospitalizations, falls, doctor visits, and use of medicines for illnesses.

Myth 3: Exercise puts me at risk of falling down.

Fact: Regular exercise, by building strength and stamina, prevents loss of bone mass and improves balance, actually reducing your risk of falling.

Myth 4: It’s too late. I’m already too old, to start exercising.

Fact: You’re never too old to exercise! If you’ve never exercised before, or it’s been a while, start with light walking and other gentle activities.

Myth 5: I’m disabled. I can’t exercise sitting down.

Fact: Chair-bound people face special challenges but can lift light weights, stretch, and do chair aerobics to increase range of motion, improve muscle tone, and promote cardiovascular health. Many senior centers offer chair aerobics. You can also get ideas for seated exercise online or in a workout video.

The truth is that you can’t afford not to get moving. Exercise is the key to staying strong, energetic, and healthy as you get older. It can help you manage the symptoms of illness and pain, maintain your independence, and even reverse some of the symptoms of aging. And not only is exercise good for your body—it’s good for your mind, mood, and memory.

10 Exciting New Year's Resolutions For Seniors

It is never too late in life to make a resolution! And it certainly doesn't have to be only done at New Year's.  Resolve to make some of the following changes this year for a better you!

1. Visit your local senior center. If you haven't checked out your local senior center, there is no time like the present!  Senior centers are alive with special interest clubs, games, sports, crafts, classes, lending libraries, hot lunches, volunteer projects, and the list goes on!  I think that you will find that the seniors that are involved are lively, friendly, and fun.
2. Learn to use the Internet. It is never too late to learn computer skills. You can keep in touch with relatives and friends through email and social networks. Want to look up a recipe?  Try the Internet. Have a craving for an old candy that you can't find in stores?  The Internet can help. Many local junior colleges, senior centers or senior communities offer free classes. 
3. Plan nourishing meals.  Resolve to eat at least one nourishing meal daily. Eating at least one filling and well balanced meal a day can improve your health and well being.  A fun way to do this is to find an eating buddy or an eating club!  It is always more fun to eat with someone else.  It may take a bit of extra planning and grocery shopping, but the energy this change will give you will make drastic improvements in your quality of life.  You can always take some help with meal planning too.
4. Visit the doctor. Have you been putting off your physical?  Perhaps your doctor retired and you haven't bothered finding a new one.  It is time to make and keep your appointment. Regular visits with a doctor are important.   
5. Consider some extra help.  An in home caregiver can help with grocery shopping, meal preparation, housekeeping, laundry, transportation to doctor visits, companionship and much more. Consider taking a little bit of help now to keep you safe and healthy and help you age in place.
6. Expand your social circle. Make new friends! Try out a new group at church.  Join the choir or bell choir. Take a class to learn a new language, start a bridge club or a book club.  Seniors who are connected to their community age better without question.
7. Schedule regular exercise. Exercise is the key to aging well. Walking is the best place to start.  Plan regular walks - make and keep an appointment with yourself. Many communities have special classes geared towards seniors. You can also exercise in the privacy of your own home with simple stretches and light weights - or maybe try a senior exercise video.
8. Clean house.  This is an ideal time in your life to take inventory of what you have and purge unwanted and unused items.  Downsize now before it becomes overwhelming to do. Take it one step at a time, no need to become bogged down.  If you feel your collections are out of control, read these tips about how to overcome hoarding.
9. Laugh. Hahahahaha! You know the saying "laughter is the best medicine"?  Well research says that it just may be. Laughter improves physical, emotional, and mental well being.  Rent a funny movie, watch it with friends, let the laughter flow.
10. Make your home safe. It may be time to consider some home improvements to make your house suitable to age in place.  We have lots of tips for ageless design and simple things you can change room by room for a safe home for years to come.

What was your resolution this year?  Leave a comment, we'd love to hear what you have resolved for 2012.

Understanding the Modified MyPyramid Nutrition for Older Adults

Adults over the age of 70 have unique dietary needs, and Tufts University researchers updated the Food Guide Pyramid for Older Adults to correspond with the new USDA food pyramid, called MyPyramid.

Understanding the Modified MyPyramid for Older Adults

The Tufts version specifically designed for older adults:

• Continues to emphasize nutrient-dense food choices and the importance of fluid balance and
• Has added additional guidance about forms of foods that could best meet the unique needs of older adults and about the importance of regular physical activity.

Older adults tend to need fewer calories as they age because they are not as physically active as they once were and their metabolic rates slow down. However, their bodies still require the same or higher levels of nutrients for optimal health.

The pyramid uses icons representing foods in the following categories:

• Whole, enriched, and fortified grains and cereals, such as brown rice and 100% whole wheat bread.
• Brightly-colored vegetables, such as carrots and broccoli.
• Deeply-colored fruit, such as berries and melon.
• Low- and non-fat dairy products, such as yogurt and low-lactose milk.
• Dry beans and nuts, fish, poultry, lean meat and eggs.
• Liquid vegetable oils and soft spreads low in saturated and trans fat.

The foundation of the pyramid stresses the importance of:

• Increased daily fluid intake.
• Regular physical activity, such as walking, house work and yard work.

As people age, there can be a disassociation between how hydrated bodies are and how thirsty they feel; this can be of particular concern in the summer months.

Food and beverages with high water content are important contributors of fluid in an older person’s diet:

• Lettuce
• Vegetable juice
• Soups

Emphasized in the Modified MyPyramid for Older Adults are icons depicting packaged fruits and vegetables in addition to fresh examples, forms that for a number of reasons may be more appropriate for older adults. These include:

• Bags of frozen pre-cut vegetables that can be resealed and
• Single-serve portions of canned fruit.

These choices can be easier to prepare and have a longer shelf life, minimizing waste.

The flag at the top of the pyramid suggests that older adults may need increased amounts of certain supplemental nutrients as they age:

• Calcium
• Vitamin D
• Vitamin B12

Although the majority, if not all, of the nutrients an older adult consumes should come from food rather than supplements, these nutrients may be difficult to obtain from food alone, especially when calorie needs go down.

Some people may need to discuss this potential need with their health care providers.

Practical Comparison Of Nutritional Supplement Drinks

While they are now being advertised as meal supplements for healthy, active older adults, these products were created to help increase the caloric intake of patients with eating issues. 

The chart below was devised to compare three nutritional drink supplements as well as showcase a convenient “real food” counterpart—low-fat yogurt and an orange.

 

	Boost®	Ensure®	Carnation® Instant Breakfast Essentials™ Ready-to-Drink	Low-fat Yogurt + Orange
Serving Size	8 ounces	8 ounces	11 ounces	8 ounce yogurt + medium orange
Calories	240	220	250	206
Carbs	33g	41g	34g	31g
Protein	15g	9g	14g	12g
Fat	6g	6g	5g	3.5g
Calcium	300g	300g	500g	467g
Fiber	0g	3g	0g	3g
Vitamin C	60mg	30mg	30mg	71mg
1st two Ingredients	water, corn syrup solids	water, corn syrup	non-fat milk, water	low-fat milk, milk solids (from the yogurt)
Cost	$2.05*	$1.16*	$1.12*	$1.00*
TASTE Best = 5 to Worst = 1	3	2	4	5

*Prices based on an Illinois grocery store in 2009. Prices in your area may differ. All samples tested were vanilla flavored.

Breaking The Supplement Products Down...

• The products are not hugely different in their calorie, carbohydrate or fat content.
• Of the supplements, Carnation® Instant Breakfast Essentials™ has the lowest fat and the most calcium.
• All of the products but Ensure® are sorely deficient in fiber.
• Carnation® Instant Breakfast Essentials™ is the cheapest supplement per serving and according to the chart, the best tasting.

The gold medal though, definitely goes to the low-fat yogurt and orange for more nutrient-dense ingredients, fiber, vitamin C and photochemicals, as well as low-fat and high-calcium content, cheapest price and best taste.

Healthy guidelines for supplement users

For those who struggle to meet caloric intake, supplements can be helpful. Below are guidelines to be certain the body is receiving the nutrients it needs:

• At least 5 fruit and vegetable servings daily.

• 6–11 servings of grain products daily, preferably from whole-grain and high fiber sources.

• 2–3 low-fat or non-fat servings of dairy products daily.

• 2–3 low-fat protein servings daily.

Those who are drinking lots of supplement drinks, but not following the above guidelines, are not being provided with optimal nutrition.

If you or a loved one need assistance preparing and planning healthy meals, contact us for more information about how an in home caregiver can help you with your nutrition needs.

How To Prevent Elder Fraud: What Kansas City Seniors Need To Know

Elder financial abuse costs older Americans more than $2.6 billion per year. Follow these steps to identify and protect against elder fraud.

4 Things All Seniors need to know:

1. It’s illegal for companies that operate contests or sweepstakes to ask one to pay to enter or claim a prize or even suggest that chances of winning will improve if there is a purchase.
2. It’s illegal for telemarketers to ask for a fee upfront to help get a loan if they guarantee or strongly imply that the loans will be made.
3. There is no reason to give a credit card number or bank account number to a telemarketer unless a payment is actually being made with that account.
4. If payment is required before getting detailed information about the offer, it’s probably a scam.

Warning Signs That Your Senior Loved One Is Being Scammed:

• Receive lots of mail for contests, “free trips,” prizes, and sweepstakes or literature from foreign countries

• Get frequent calls from strangers offering great deals or asking for charitable contributions

• Make repeated and/or large payments to companies in other states or countries;
  Have difficulty buying groceries and paying utility and other bills

• Subscribe to more magazines than anyone could normally read

• Receive lots of cheap items such as costume jewelry, beauty products, water filters, and knick knacks that they bought to win something or received as prizes

• Get calls from organizations offering to recover, for a fee, money they have lost to fraudulent telemarketers.

 If you suspect a senior loved one is being exploited financially a free home care assessment may put your mind at ease.  A trained Geriatric Care Manager can spot the warning signs that home care is needed and offer suggestions on how to protect against senior scams.

For additional reading:

Tips to Protect Against Elder Fraud: Part 1 

Tips to Protect Against Elder Fraud: Part 2 

Tips to Protect Against Elder Fraud: Part 3

 

How to Help A Hoarder In Seven Simple Steps

Compulsive hoarding, also known as pathological hoarding or disposophobia, is the excessive acquisition of possessions (and failure to use or discard them), even if the items are worthless, hazardous, or unsanitary.

Compulsive hoarding impairs mobility and interferes with basic activities, including cooking, cleaning, showering, and sleeping.

 

Solutions For Hoarders:

1. Understand that the hoarding might be a symptom of a bigger problem. It is not clear whether compulsive hoarding is an isolated disorder, or rather a symptom of another condition, such as obsessive-compulsive disorder.

2. Use motivational languate, not judgmental language. Like anyone else, individuals with hoarding will not be receptive to negative comments about the state of their home, their character, or their possessions (e.g.,“What a mess!” “What kind of person lives like this?” “This is nothing but junk!”). In communicating with people who hoard about the consequences of hoarding, use language that reduces defensiveness and increases motivation to solve the problem (e.g., “I see that you have a pathway from your front door to your living room. That’s great that you’ve kept things out of the way so that you don’t slip or fall.”

3. Don’t try to persuade or argue with the person. Efforts to persuade individuals to make a change in their home or behavior often have the opposite effect—the person actually talks himself into keeping the items.

4. Highlight strengths. All people have strengths, positive aspects of themselves, their behavior, or even their homes. A visitor’s ability to notice these strengths helps forge a good relationship and paves the way for resolving the hoarding problem (e.g., “I see that you can easily access your bathroom sink and shower.” “What a beautiful painting!” “I can see how much you care about your cat.”)

5. Pay attention to the meaning of important objects. Attention to objects with sentimental meaning or memorabilia from past experiences and life events can assist in establishing and maintaining the trust necessary for continued work addressing a hoarding problem.

6. Focus the intervention initially on safety and organization of possessions and later work on discarding. Discussion of the fate of the person’s possessions will be necessary at some point, but it is preferable for this discussion to follow work on safety and organization.

7. Know when to ask for help. Professional organizers, trained home care aides or nurses, and geriatric care managers can also provide help with de‑cluttering and organizing. Contact American Companion Care at (913) 390-6300 to learn more.

Helping people who hoard understand how their problem interferes in living the life they desire can be a powerful motivator, especially as it pertains to being able to live independently. Follow these seven steps and you can help your loved one overcome hoarding.  Remeber, hoarding can be a warning sign that in home care is needed.

Look For These Warning Signs When You Are Home For the Holidays

As we all gather with family, parents, and senior loved ones it is common to be surprised by a sudden change in appearance.  Perhaps your father's normally pristine hair is disheveled, and his face unshaven.  Maybe your mother's makeup is a mess, or she looks thin, or worse, there is a bruise on her forehead.

Sometimes the age related decline is not so obvious.  Pay attention to subtle changes as you gather with your family to assess whether or not more care is needed.

Warning Signs that Home Care Is Needed:

• Decline in personal hygiene.
• Weight loss
• Loss of interest in favorite activities or hobbies - and other signs of depression.
• Difficulty with balance or mobility
• Confusion while doing once familiar tasks
• Difficulty finding words.  Might be on the tip of their tounge but they cannot express it.
• Pills on the floor, pills still in the pill box indicating missed doses. Confusion about proper dosage for each medication.
• Messy house, clutter, dishes piled up

All of these are subtle signs that a bit more care may be needed so that your loved one can continue to age in place.  While most people are resistant or reluctant to accept help, it can make all the difference in staying healthy and being able to remain independent for longer.

When the signs of senior care needs show themselves, it is important to not make assumptions about why things have changed or blame the senior. It is essential to keep an open mind and not point fingers at one another.

Here are a few ideas for conversation starters:

"I love you very much and I am worried about your safety and well being.  I know someone who can help us with ideas to get around the house easier and manage your medications better.  May I make an appointment for her to come over and meet with us?"

"Lately I've noticed that the housework isn't being done the way you like it. What do you think about hiring someone to handle the shopping, laundry, and light housekeeping a few times a week so you don't have tire yourself out doing housework?"

More talking tips...

Often it helps to have an assessment from a professional Geriatric Care Manager.  We will provide a basic free in home safety assesment at your convenience and offer tips and suggestions on how to age in place safely for the long haul.

 

How To Avoid The Most Common Medication Errors

In a study by the FDA that evaluated reports of fatal medication errors from 1993 to 1998, the most common error involving medications was related to administration of an improper dose of medicine, accounting for 41% of fatal medication errors. Giving the wrong drug and using the wrong route of administration each accounted for 16% of the errors.

Almost half of the fatal medication errors occurred in people over the age of 60. Older people may be at greatest risk for medication errors because they often take multiple prescription medications.

How To Avoid Common Medication Errors:

• Listen: When the doctor gives you a prescription, ask him or her to tell you the name of the drug, the correct dosage, and what the drug is used for. Be sure you understand the directions for any medications you may be taking including the correct dosage, storage requirements, and any special instructions.
• Bring someone with you.  This ensures one more set of ears hearing the directions for proper use. When in a high stress situation from illness or injury it is difficult to retain details.  Having a family member or caregiver with you may make all of the difference.
• In the hospital, ask (or have a relative or friend ask) the name and purpose of each drug you are given. Every time! Hospital workers are very busy and only human.  Don't be shy about double checking.
• Be open.  Make sure to tell your doctor the names of all the prescription and non-prescription drugs, dietary supplements, and herbal preparations you are taking every time he or she writes you a new prescription. This will help to prevent another type of medication problem, undesirable and potentially serious interactions among medications.
• Ask Questions. If the name of the drug on your prescription looks different than you expected, if the directions appear different than you thought, or if the pills or medication itself looks different, tell your doctor or pharmacist right away. Asking questions if you have any suspicions at all is a free and easy way to ensure that you don't become the victim of a medication error.

With 1.3 million people being injured annually by medication errors, it is important to take precaution against the most common types of medication errors.   Trained caregivers can transport a senior to the doctor, accompany the client into the doctor's office, assist with dressing and undressing required, and pick up perscriptions for an elderly client.  Contact us on how a professional caregiver can help you avoid common medication erros.