4 expert tips for maintaining mobility at home

12 March 2021

Senior lady in bright yellow T-shirt holding up both arms in front of a tablet

Mobility is easy to take for granted until it’s lost or diminished. When it becomes challenging to get out of bed, walk up steps, reach into a cupboard or hang up washing, many people can become discouraged. But they shouldn't be!

Thankfully, at Feros Care, we have a team of exercise physiologists that assist clients with their mobility. This might involve working to improve any of the below physical factors:

Joint flexibility – especially in ankles, knees, hips, spine, neck and shoulders

Muscle strength – especially in legs, arms and back

Balance – being stable on feet when stationary and moving

One of our exercise physiologists is Danielle, who studied Biomedical Science at university before going on to further studies in Exercise Physiology including Honours and a PHD. Despite starting off in the world of elite athletes, Danielle found that she was drawn to the clinical perspective of working with seniors to encourage them in the health and wellbeing area.

“I was a competitive athlete myself, I’d do adventure racing, 24-hour overnight races, triathlons, all really gruelling,” Danielle explains. “I realised that, long-term, the extreme level of exercise I was doing wasn’t sustainable into my older years.”

Danielle now finds her work with Feros Care to be very meaningful on a global level. “It’s really important to be able to inspire people, not only to age well but to live their lives, right to the end, however that looks for them.”

Here are Danielle’s top tips for improving or maintaining mobility.

Keep active

The key is really to stay as active as you are able to. Continue to do daily chores as long as you comfortably can, such as cleaning, gardening or hanging the washing. Keep going for walks with the dog, or even just walking around the block; otherwise, flexibility, strength and balance can decrease significantly before you notice.

Staying active is also a great way to keep you motivated and enjoying your lifestyle. Danielle gives the example of a client who had Parkinson’s disease, with doctors telling him that he’d be lucky to live six months. The client went from being immobile to now, four years later, walking daily with his walking stick and mowing his lawns each day with his ride-on mower. “He’s just a totally new person!” Danielle says.

Move your arms and legs daily

Every day, have a go at the following exercises:

Lift your arms as high as they can go

Sit down in a chair and stand up again

Do each exercise as many times in a row as you comfortably can, ideally between five to 20 times.

“You’ll never have to worry about getting stuck in a chair if you do these,” Danielle explains.

Complete a balance exercise program

If you’re not sure where to begin, get some support from a professional such as a Physiotherapist or Exercise Physiologist to identify two or three simple balancing exercises you can complete every day.

“I constantly help you to feel your body, how much is enough, and that really helps with mind-body awareness,” Danielle says.

Be consistent

Stick to your series of exercises every day, or join some online exercise classes on the Feros Care Virtual Social Centre to get support and motivation and have fun exercising with other people.

“On your health and wellbeing journey, why not meet another person that you can have a great friendship with?” Danielle points out. “It’s positive relationships that really help with motivations. You don’t have to do it on your own, there are so many people out there to have fun with.”

Mobility and wellness programs like exercise physiology are just one of the services offered by Feros Care to dramatically improve quality of life for seniors.