Great Activities for Older Adults with Limited Mobility

blankThe number of activities you can engage in is limited if you have mobility-related issues due to a neurological disease, osteoporosis, arthritis, joint pain, or old age. Most of the time, the options you have include reading books and watching TV shows, which is not a healthy cycle of habits. Below are a few excellent pastime alternatives for elderly people with reduced mobility.

1. Gentle exercise

Staying active is essential for the healthy functioning of your body and mind. Unless your mobility is severely altered, there are many gentle exercise routines you can follow to stay fit and eliminate boredom. These include air-punching, pillow squeezes, squats with a chair, front and lateral raises, water aerobics, and chair yoga.

Aging people who need help with exercise and mobility can benefit from professional care service providers. There are care companies offer in-home services on an as-needed basis, meaning your loved one can be assigned a caregiver specifically for exercise purposes.

2. Fishing

Fishing is among the most popular outdoor activities for elderly people with limited mobility. Even individuals who use wheelchairs can participate in their favorite outdoor activities with the help of assistive equipment.

Tools such as electric reels combined with inventive ideas like clamping the rod holder to a wheelchair can make the fishing experience more seamless and productive for your loved one.

3. Brain games

Sudoku, jigsaw and crossword puzzles are all inexpensive forms of entertainment that many people play for hours without getting bored. You can download many fantastic game apps for free to keep you occupied if you have a computer or smartphone.

There are numerous paper books on the market with various game collections if your loved one prefers the old fashioned pen-and-paper puzzle crossword or word-seek puzzles.

4. Textile arts

Textile arts include knitting, sewing, macramé, weaving, crocheting, and embroidery. Many local charities, churches, and hospitals organize occasional projects to which seniors can contribute by creating clothing, blankets, etc. for the underprivileged.

If your loved one does knitting as a hobby, get them the tools they need and consider signing them up for these types of projects.

5. Spend time with visitors

Asking family and friends with babies or pets to stop by for a visit is another excellent way to engage a senior with limited mobility. Who doesn’t become lively in the presence of children? And playing with friendly pets is an effective way to bring cheer and minimize stress.

6. Outdoor photography

With low-cost camera options and lightweight smartphones with incredible photo and video capabilities, seniors who enjoy photography can spend time on their decks taking, deleting, saving, editing, and sharing pictures and videos of nature around them.

Photography seems like a brief and straightforward activity, but it’s deep and engrossing. The list of techniques, projects, genres, and equipment is endless. There is more to learn each day, and your loved ones can start anywhere, even if they have no photography background.

End note

Keeping older adults with limited mobility active has numerous benefits to the body and mind. It alleviates anxiety, depression, social isolation, and low self-esteem and boosts confidence and cognitive ability. It also helps shake stressed seniors out of negative thoughts, which is good for their overall well-being.