Living and Dealing With Arthritis and Osteoporosis

It is inevitable that as we age, there are some everyday activities that will become much more difficult. Parallels can be drawn between how age affects humans and how age affects inanimate objects. For instance if you have ever owned a car an older car, there comes a time when components start wearing down and will need replacing. Unfortunately for us, you can not replace your joints as easily as you do an alternator, so it is important to take care of our bodies.

One way to take care of your body is to not put yourself in dangerous situations. Arthritis and osteoporosis often affect people who are older and can be a potentially hazardous combination. Arthritis is a joint disease that can make walking difficult and bending your knees painful. This can make it hard to walk up the stairs, stand up, and increases the chances of a fall. Osteoporosis involves the weakening of the bones due to calcium deficiencies. By itself, osteoporosis does not increase the chance of a fall, but it does increase the risk of serious injury if you do fall. When combined with something like arthritis or muscular dystrophy, osteoporosis can greatly increase the likelihood of a broken bone, even from a small fall.

Mobility Lifting Aids

One way to prevent falls when standing up is to use a lift chair. These chairs are used to help ensure that the chairs occupant is able to stand safely and independently. They achieve this by slowly raising the chair and its occupant to a position that they can stand from with ease. This not only reduces the risk of a fall, but also allows people who suffer from mobility related disorders, like arthritis, to stand without any help from others.

Lift chairs also provide a very comfortable place to sleep or watch TV. They look and function much like a regular recliner, but offer increased safety, that no regular recliner can. Lift recliners also have reclining backrests and extending footrests. These are both controlled by an electric motor, which allows the chairs occupant to better find a comfortable position.

There are many other types of mobility lifting aids that can be used around the home to prevent falls. This includes toilet lifts, bath lifts, stair lifts, and others. These devices are designed to reduce the risk of a fall in areas that are common trouble spots.

Eating Right

While taking care to prevent accidents, by using mobility lifting aids, will go a long way to improving ones safety, a proper diet should also be followed. Taking calcium supplements or eating foods rich in calcium is very important to controlling osteoporosis. Vitamin D is also closely linked to osteoporosis and should be included in your daily dietary intake. To a lesser extent, vitamin K and vitamin B12 have also been shown to play a part in preventing osteoporosis.

Exercising

Staying active is also very important. Even only a few minutes of exercises every few days can have a big impact on ones body. Exercise also can play a big part in preventing arthritis and controlling pain. While generally some load bearing exercise is recommended for osteoporosis and arthritis. Aerobic exercises, like swimming, walking, and riding bicycles, is also important. Many pools and recreation centers offer a water aerobic course specifically targeted to seniors with arthritis.

Range of Motion exercises are also very important for people with arthritis. These types of exercises go a long way to improving flexibility and can help to decrease pain, but they also help maintain a person's current level of flexibility.

Make sure you consult a doctor or personal trainer before you begin exercising though, just as not enough exercises can have negative effects, so can too much or the wrong types.

Brad Brubaker is a writer that has experience with many topics, including arthritis and osteoporosis. Exercising and eating properly play a big part in preventing accidents and slowing or controlling many mobility related diseases and disorders. Using mobility lifting aids will also help to greatly reduce the chance of a fall or serious injury. Visit US Medical Supplies to find out about many of the different mobility lifting aids available, including lift chairs, bath lifts, toilet seat lifts, stair lifts, and more.