As your body ages, the way it function starts to change. Muscles are no longer as firm as they once were and joints can stiffen and become weak. As a senior, keeping your body moving and functional is all about staying active. You may not leave the house as much as you once did or even head to the gym, but there are a lot of simple activities that you can do at home, especially if you have a few helpful physical therapy aids on hand. Here are a few pieces of physical therapy equipment that you should keep in your home as an aging adult and use often.
1. Resistance Bands - You may not be able to do weight lifting, but you can build up your muscles with resistance training, which is easy to do if you have resistance bands on hand that are often used in physical therapy. These bands can be strapped over a door and only require you to do simple pulling maneuvers to work out your muscles.
2. Foot Cycle - Climbing on an exercise bike may be out of the question, but your knees, calves, and hips could use the cycling motion to stay limber. Keep a mini foot cycle in the house, and you can practice cycling while you comfortably sit in your own chair. These mini cycles stay stable on the floor and often have wide-set pedals to help you maintain your grip.
3. Exercise Disc - An exercise disc can be used for balance practicing, twist exercises to relieve tension on the spine, and even just a cushion on the floor if you need extra padding. This vinyl-covered, round disc is soft enough for cushioned seating but provides just enough heft to use to help work out your muscles.
4. Stretch Bands - Unlike resistance bands, stretch bands are designed specifically to help you stretch your muscles, which is something that should be done on a regular basis to help prevent weakness and stiffness of joints and tissue. These soft bands are typically created with a spandex material that stretches with ease and easily wraps around your feet or hands while you do simple physical therapy exercises.
Even though it would be ideal to head to the gym or physical therapy center every day as an aging senior, this is rarely possible. Having a few physical therapy aids on hand in your home will help to ensure you do have access to easy exercise training. Talk to your physical therapist for more in-home exercise ideas you can use the most as a senior.
Share