Important Balance Exercises to Prevent Falls

Every year in the U.S., hundreds of thousands of people suffer broken hips, mainly due to falls, which can cause permanent disability and lead to a lack of independent functioning.  To prevent falls, there are three important areas to exercise: hip muscles, thigh muscles, and the ankles.  The more you exercise these, the more you decrease the liklihood of falling.  Here are some great exercises for each group.

1. Hip Muscles

Straight Leg Raise: Lie on your back with knees bent and feet flat on the ground.  Raise one leg and, trying to keep it as straight as possible, hold it a foot off the ground for ten seconds.  Relax that leg and continue with the other.  Repeat ten times for each.

Back Kick: Hold onto a table or other object for stability.  Stand on one leg, and kick the other leg forwards and backwards, like a pendulum.  Do so for thirty seconds, then switch legs.  Repeat ten times.

Lying Leg Lifts: Lie on your back with your legs straight out.  Slowly lift both legs into the air as high as you can, and lower them to the ground.  Repeat as many times as possible.

2. Thigh muscles

Wall Slide: Stand with your back to a wall and your legs in front of you.  Slide your back down the wall until you reach a sitting position (note: if you are just beginning, stop the slide when the pressure on your thighs is too much).  Hold this position for a few seconds, then slide back up the wall.  Over time, try to build up the seconds you can spend in the seated position.  Repeat exercise ten times, or however many feel comfortable.

Knee Extensions: Sit in a chair and lift one leg in the air, straight in front of you, and hold it there for as long as possible.  Alternate the leg.  Repeat ten times.

Knee Flexions: Stand next to a chair or table for support.  Raise one knee up as far as possible and hold it there for one second, and slowly lower it down to the ground.  Then do the same with your other leg.  Repeat ten times.

3. Ankles

Rotating Ankle: Stand next to a support, and raise one leg up.  Move your ankle in a circle, rotating the toes around your foot four times clockwise, then four times counterclockwise.  Repeat with your other foot.  Repeat exercise ten times.

Foot Inversion and Eversion: Sit in a chair with your back firmly againt the back of the chair.  Slowly, without moving your leg, rotate your foot inward as far as possible, and hold for six seconds.  Then, slowly rotate your foot outward as far as possible, and hold for six seconds.  Rotate it back to its original spot.  Do the same with your other foot, and repeat ten times.

Ankle Raises: Stand in front of a table for support.  Raise yourself up on your toes for six seconds, then lower yourself down.  Repeat exercise ten times.

5 Steps to Hiring the Right Caregiver

If you decide that a loved one needs help to care for him/herself, or you have become too overwhelmed to provide this care,  it is a good idea to hire a caregiver to help your loved one with activities of daily living and other things necessary for functioning.  Selecting the right caregiver is paramount to ensuring your loved one receives the best care possible.  Here are 5 steps to follow to ensure you hire the right caregiver.

1. Make a List of your Loved One's Needs

Caregivers are trained in many different areas.  In order to help your loved one, it is important to take stock of what he/she needs help with.  Walking?  Bathing?  Money management?  Write all these things down, and make sure the caregiver you hire has experience with the specific needs.

2. Identify Where to Look for a Caregiver

There are several resources that will guide you in the right direction.  Your local Area Agency on Aging can help (http://www.n4a.org/).  Also, you can call local hospitals or churches or companies that specialize in elder care, and they can recommend agencies or individual caregivers to you.

3. Conduct Phone Interviews with Potential Caregivers

Once you have established where you want to choose potential caregivers from, it is important to have a wide range of candidates.  Interviewing individuals via phone will narrow down the pool.  Important questions to ask include: Have you worked with these specific disabilities? How would you react in an emergency situation? How long have you worked as a caregiver? How do you dispense medications? and other questions that are pertinent to your loved one's unique situation.  It is important to ask for at least two professional references, as well as conduct a criminal background check.

4. In-Person Interviews and Interactions with your Loved One

After you narrow your candidate pool, it is important to conduct in-person interviews.  Make sure to make your questions to the potential caregiver more concise.  Also, it helps to have another family or friend present to provide a second opinion for you.  If the person you are hiring the caregiver for is able, it is important to have him/her present for the interview.  It is very important to watch your loved one and the caregiver interact to see if they have a good bond.  Often these things are evident at a first meeting.  Make sure your loved one has a say in the hiring process.

5.  Follow-Up and Monitoring

After you have hired a caregiver, it is important to make sure he/she is doing a good job.  Drop by unexpectedly when the caregiver is there, and, if possible, have consistent conversations with your loved one on how he/she feels about the caregiver. 

Remember, there are many caregivers out there, so you have a large pool to choose from!  Good luck, and if you have any other recommendations, please post them in the comments section below.

Love Animals?

People say that dogs are man's best friend.  New studies show that having a dog is a strong motivator to go out and exercise.  http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/03/14/forget-the-treadmill-get-a-dog/?partner=rss&emc=rss

All About Caregiver Support Groups

Often, the role of a caregiver can become extremely burdensome, and can increase the risk for health problems such as depression, anxiety, sleeplessness, and fatigue.  If you are a caregiver, these health problems can lead to difficulty at work in the form of absenteeism, going from full-time to part-time, or suffering a general lower level of productivity. 

If you are suffering because of your caregiving role, it is important to keep one important thing in mind: You are not alone.  There are millions of caregivers in the United States going through the same thing you are.  As a result, there are many support groups out there to help you deal with stress, emotional difficulty, or any other problem that might arise from your caregiving duties.  There are two different types of support groups: online and personal.

Online groups are great if you do not have the time or ability to leave the house, and do not need the personal experience of exchanging your difficulties.  These online groups vary in the services they provide, but usually there is a message board and a place for discussion.  You can find such support groups at:
http://www.dailystrength.org/c/Caregivers/support-group
http://www.caregiver.org/caregiver/jsp/content_node.jsp?nodeid=347
http://www.aging-parents-and-elder-care.com/Pages/SupportGroup.html

Personal, community support groups are a fantastic resource too.  Going to a meeting and talking with other people who are experiencing similar issues, you will probably feel less isolated and be able to make friends and exchange helpful information.  Because you are meeting people in your own community, you will be able to discover specific programs and resources that are available to you.  Here is a good website to use to find local support groups:
http://www.caregiver.com/regionalresources/index.htm
Additionally, you can call local community centers, hospitals, or the Area Agency on Aging for recommendations. 

If you are feeling overwhemled with your caregiving duties, always remember that you are not alone.  With the health risks associated with caregiving, it is important to get help when you need it.  Support groups are a great, free way to get this help.

Understand How Healthcare Reform Will Affect You

NPR does a great job breaking down how the new healthcare reform will impact you.  http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=111499109
Note:  These numbers do not apply to seniors.

The Importance of Vitamin D

Vitamin D is a vitamin that sometimes goes unmentioned when discussing essential dietary needs.  Good sources of vitamin D are found in fish, milk, and eggs.  There are not many foods with an abundance of vitamin D; the body produces it mostly as a result of exposure to sunlight, and in our society, because mant people do not spend a great amount of time outside, they do not receive an adequate supply of the vitamin.  If this is the case, you might want to take a supplement.  Here are three benefits of having a good amount of vitamin D in your diet:

1. Improved Mood

Exposure to sun naturally stimulates the production of vitamin D in our bodies.  Many people suffer from seasonal-affective-disorder in the winter months.  This is because their body is not receiving proper amounts of vitamin D.  If you walk or run on a treadmill during the summer, try your workout in the great outdoors instead.  You will probably find your increased level of vitamin D improving your mood.

2. Increased Calcium

Our muscles, heart, and nerves all need calcium in order to function effectively and to aid blood clotting.  Additionally, lower amounts of calcium often lead to low bone mass and osteoporosis.  Without vitamin D, you cannot build calcium.  It is through this vitamin that the body absorbs calcium and is able to attain longevity.

3. Better Immunity

While many people point to vitamin C as the best supplement to fight sickness, vitamin D just may be the better one.  Last year, researchers at the University of Copenhagen found that vitamin D "triggers and arms" the body's T cells.  T cells act as agents that find and destroy harmful bacteria and viruses.  These T cells are activated by vitamin D, and a deficieny in the vitamin will cause a deficiency in the immune system.

Caregiver Stress Test

Here is a link to a caregiver stress test devised by Snap for Seniors.  If you score relatively high on the test, you may want to seek some help in order to relieve your stress.  http://www.snapforseniors.com/LinkClick.aspx?fileticket=1TdPySBRzX0%3D&tabid=923&mid=3213