Columbia Aged Care

Your loved one may find it difficult to buy comfortable clothing that fits them properly. If your loved one suffers from arthritis or an injury they may also have difficulty dressing themselves.

You can make your loved one’s life easier by purchasing them clothing that is easy to put on and is comfortable to wear. You can buy adaptive clothing specially designed for people with restrictive movement, which will make it easier and less painful for your loved one to dress themselves.

If they suffer from dementia they may resist wearing certain types of clothing or have a favourite outfit. You can help them by purchasing multiple sets of their favourite outfit so they always have clean clothes to put on.

Aged Carer has provided some great tips for buying appropriate clothing for your loved one.

• Choose natural fibre and cotton fabrics that breathe
• Choose clothes with elastic waists
• Buy slip on shoes with a non-slip sole
• Stretchy fabrics
• Bras that clip at the front for women with arthritis
• Choose large buttons
• Ensure there is lots of room in sleeves
• Choose fabric that can be washed frequently and in water with temperatures up to 90 degrees if your loved one is in a nursing home
• Choose clothes that don’t have to be ironed

You can help your loved one achieve a greater independence by buying them comfortable clothes that they can easily dress themselves in.

Read the full article here.

There are 3.85 million people in Australia who are living with arthritis. Arthritis can make even the simplest of everyday tasks difficult and painful to complete, with many people unable to enjoy the best quality of life possible.

Bluesky Healthcare have provided several simple and practical tips to help relieve the pain of arthritis, keep you mobile and make daily activities easier so you can improve on your quality of life.

1. Keep Moving
Regular exercise is one of the most effective treatments of arthritis as it helps to strengthen your muscles and bones which increases flexibility and helps to reduce pain in muscles and joints.

Some great exercises for arthritis sufferers include:

• Warm water exercises such as aqua aerobics, aqua therapy or even simply swimming laps in a pool.
• Regular walks
• Chair-based exercise classes
• Tai Chi is a gentle exercise that involves smooth, flowing movements that helps reduce pain and stiffness

2. Pace yourself and rest when you need to
When living with arthritis it is important to work out a balance between work and rest.

Break larger tasks like cooking dinner into smaller steps and rest in between each step. Don’t set high expectations – enjoying exercise, time with family and leading a happy life is much more important that cooking a five star meal or maintaining a spotless house!

3. Enjoy a good night’s sleep
Sleep helps your body recover and repair itself and most people will feel much better after a good night’s sleep. Unfortunately, arthritis can make it difficult to sleep and as less sleep lowers your pain threshold this can quickly become a vicious cycle.

Owning a bed with a supportive mattress can help to put an end to this cycle and can help you achieve a better night’s sleep.

Read the full article here.

Massage is a fantastic way to ease pain, stress and improve health and well being. There are many benefits massage can have on elderly people.

Elderly massage uses a different technique to massage for younger people. There are different physiological changes that occur in the body as you age and massage therapists need to take this into account.

It is a natural trend, as we age, to become less active and massage can significantly benefit the effects ageing and less physical activity has on us.

Ezinearticles.com has provided several reasons why elderly massage is beneficial.

• Research has shown massage is a useful in the treatment of patients with Alzheimer’s as it has shown to facilitate relaxation and communication
• Assists in arthritic pain management
• Promotes natural joint lubrication – which is extremely important for arthritis sufferers
• Helps to increase strength and muscle coordination
• Boosts energy levels and mental awareness
• Can improve posture by reducing muscle tension

For most elderly people pain management is treated through pharmaceutical medications, however, massage can be used as a natural substitute to conventional medical methods as it can help ease and even eliminate pain.

Read the full article here.

About.com have written an article to help people gain and maintain control over the limitations imposed by arthritis.

People living with arthritis are often dismayed by how much the disease steals from their lives. If you or someone you care for has arthritis, physical limitations caused by chronic pain, chronic fatigue, stress and more can narrow your world and interrupt living a "normal life."

With arthritis, energy is consumed just trying to accomplish ordinary tasks and usual daily activities. Your focus may be limited to just "getting through the day." Arthritis starts to take control of your life, rather than you taking control of the disease.

How can you better manage your illness?
What modifications can you make to your lifestyle to make living with arthritis easier? What actions can you take to gain and maintain control over the limitations imposed by arthritis?

1 - Stay Positive
Arthritis is an unpredictable disease, as is the future. Accepting new realities and redefining life within the limitations imposed by disease is important for people with arthritis. Positive attributes can help you manage life with chronic arthritis.

2 - Trust Your Doctor
Doctors play an essential role in the treatment of arthritis. Choosing a doctor is one of the most critical decisions you make when it comes to your condition. It is imperative that your needs are being met. Find a compassionate, communicative doctor you can trust.

3 - Accept Your Situation
Don't fight the fact that you have arthritis or that your condition changes your life. Don't deny that you have the disease, nor underestimate its impact. Once you accept that you have a chronic illness and that it is a part of your life for the rest of your life, the decisions you make will be better for you and will ultimately improve your life.

You must internalize the acceptance -- feel it, don't just say it.

4 - Set Realistic Goals
Set realistic goals for yourself. Through reflection and contemplation, you can assess what you are not happy with and work to change those circumstances. Be sensitive to your innermost feelings. You can focus and begin to make necessary changes in your life.

5 - Be Informed
If you have been diagnosed with arthritis, it's important to learn all that you can about the disease. The importance of knowledge and understanding your health condition cannot be overstated. Stay informed -- subscribe to our newsletter.

6 - Protect Your Joints
Joint protection can reduce stress on arthritic joints and decrease pain. There are several joint protection principles which, if followed, will help to conserve energy and preserve joint function.

7 - Manage Your Medications
 When your doctor hands you a new prescription, it becomes your responsibility to know what the medication is for, how to take it, and what possible side effects might occur. Medication errors have many causes, but usually have one thing in common -- they could have been prevented.

8 - Keep Active
The benefits of exercise as part of a treatment program for managing arthritis are well-known and documented. Despite the known benefits, many people with arthritis avoid exercising regularly.

9 - Watch Your Weight
 Being overweight, even just moderately, impacts weight-bearing joints and can increase joint pain. As you walk, your hips, knees, and ankles bear three to five times your total body weight. For every pound you're overweight, the equivalent of three to five pounds worth of added pressure is added to each knee as you walk.

The flip side of that is good news: losing just 10 pounds causes 30 to 50 pounds of extra stress to be relieved from the joints.

10 - Seek Mutual Support
Arthritis not only affects people who have the disease, it impacts the people around them, especially family and friends. People living with arthritis and those who have loved ones with the disease can gain insight and draw inspiration from others facing similar challenges.

You can share your advice and experiences, offer mutual support, ask questions, and encourage others in our online arthritis forum community.