Why is bed mobility important for seniors?
The human body needs mobility. If we don’t get enough mobility in bed, our bodies will suffer disuse atrophy, or our muscles will lose their strength. As a result, we face difficulty in moving around. Likewise, lack of mobility in bed and staying immobile in bed for a long time can cause severe problems to the body. For instance, it may cause pressure ulcers, skin breaking, and painful wounds. Bed mobility can include rolling, scooting, and changing the position from sitting to lying down or vice versa. Seniors often suffer from various diseases, which in some cases limit their moving ability in bed.
Bed mobility is crucial as it prevents the mentioned problems and can strengthen the person’s muscles and help them find a reasonable basis for out-of-bed mobility. Caregivers should remember that bed mobility must include all body parts, such as hips, legs, and arms. Also, they should be careful not to endanger the person in the process. If done correctly, bed mobility can be a great help for seniors and ease their muscles pains.
The word “bed mobility” is related to actions such as scooting in bed, rolling (shifting from lying on one’s back to side-lying), side-lying to sitting, and sitting to lying down. It also involves scooting to sit on the edge of the bed when readying to stand or transfer. People with limited movement due to illness, weakness, harm, or disability may have trouble moving in and out of bed. There is an augmented risk of injury for the caregiver when helping patients with restricted mobility. For the protection of the caregiver and the senior, good body mechanics must be constantly maintained.
As our loved ones become older, doing simple chores and tasks gets more complicated. Moving objects or furniture turns into a nightmare if they want to do it alone. Of course, many pieces of furniture are heavy, and moving them may not be as easy as it seems, especially if someone is bedridden or has physical disabilities. Another issue is that you aren’t always beside them to do their work. So, if possible, the first thing you can do is replace some of that furniture with lighter ones. However, the most critical piece is their bed.
You can buy them a light, easy-to-move, like those adjustable beds? Please do it. They’ll be able to relocate it to any corner of their homes, and it will boost their mood because they can change their house decoration as they please, by themselves.
Also, who doesn’t like to wake up in a different part of the house once in a while? Last month, I bought my mom Milliard’s Lightweight Folding bed. It was the best! It’s lightweight, mobile, and inexpensive, somewhat about 150 USD. Check out their website and see it for yourself. You’ll love it too. The last time I checked, it was available on Amazon.
The term bed mobility refers to scooting in bed, rolling, side-lying, and sitting. Illness or surgery sometimes weakens the muscles and endurance, leading to bed mobility loss. Our bodies are meant to move. If you fail to move well in bed, your body will suffer from disuse atrophy or wasting away of muscular strength. This can lead to raised difficulty in mobility.
Not moving in the bed can also cause sores on the stomach or small intestine lining, especially if you’re severely deconditioned and remain in one position for an extended period. The skin may begin to break down, resulting in painful wounds that require specialized care to heal.
Bed mobility can help prevent bedsores. There is also the risk of injury for the caregiver when assisting patients with limited mobility. Working on bed mobility exercises specified by the doctor is extremely important since it can keep the right muscle groups working correctly.
