Leg Exercises That Can Benefit Your Elderly Loved One

Flexibility and muscle mass are both gradually lost when people get older – mostly in the legs. If you are caring for your elderly loved one, it may be helpful if you and their 24-hour home care providers encourage them to do leg exercises regularly. If they can do many seated leg exercises, it can help to promote more coordination and independence. It can reduce the risk of them having a fall, too.

One Limb Stance

24-Hour Home Care in Centerville, VA: Leg Exercise Benefits

One of the leg exercises that could benefit your elderly loved one is called the one limb stance. Basically, your elderly loved one will need to stand on one of their legs while holding the other one out behind them. It is best if you or a home care provider supervise your elderly loved one during this type of exercise, especially if they don’t have great balance currently. It is also recommended that your elderly loved one uses a chair to hold themselves steady while performing the one limb stance.

Sit N’ Stand

Another great leg exercise for senior citizens is called the sit n’ stand. This exercise is done exactly how its name implies. Your elderly loved one will start by sitting down in a chair. Then, they will put their feet onto the floor, hold onto the chair, and gently extend their hips and legs upward. After doing this, they will sit back onto the chair and stand up. They can repeat this a few times. Again, it would be best if you or an elderly care provider could keep an eye on your elderly loved one while they perform the sit n’ stands. That way, you can help to prevent falls while they are exercising.

Knee Raises

Last, but not least, your elderly loved one could benefit from doing knee raises. There are far too many senior citizens who don’t have a good range of motion in their knees. Some senior citizens even struggle with chronic knee pain due to being less flexible. However, the knee raises can help to improve range of motion and decrease pain in the knees, too.

This exercise is done by sitting down in a chair and then pulling one knee up toward the chest. Then, your elderly loved one will slowly bring that knee back to the starting position and repeat with the opposite knee.

Conclusion

These are some of the best leg exercises that could benefit your elderly loved one. Now that you know about them, you or a 24-hour home care provider can set your elderly loved one up with a leg exercise workout routine.

If you aren’t sure whether your elderly loved one is able to do these exercises, it would be a good idea to check with their doctor first. If the doctor gives the go-ahead, but you or your elderly loved one are still nervous about them doing these exercises, it would be best if someone would stay with them while they workout.

If you or an aging loved-one is considering 24-Hour Home Care in Centerville, VA please contact the caring staff at Thrive Health Care Services today. (703) 992-0484

Sources

https://www.cdc.gov/physicalactivity/downloads/growing_stronger.pdf