Is your loved one living with chronic back pain? Chronic back pain can and will seep into every breathing moment of a person’s day, making them wonder how to manage the pain while remaining independent. It can quickly become overwhelming, but you can help your elderly loved one take steps to manage her chronic back pain and look into assisted living at home services.
What Causes Chronic Back Pain?
There are many reasons why your loved one may be suffering from chronic back pain. It could be due to an injury that damaged her spine or her back muscles. It can also be age-related. One of the most common causes of chronic back pain is arthritis of the spine. With this condition, the cartilage inside the spin thins and causes pain. A herniated disk may also cause back pain as well as spinal stenosis, a condition where the spinal canal begins to narrow.
While surgery can be an option in some cases for chronic back pain, it can also come with some dangerous risks, and while it may help reduce pain levels in some, it’s never a guarantee to alleviate all pain. If your elderly loved one has chronic back pain, assisted living at home providers and these tips can help her manage the condition and help her improve her quality of life.
Four Home Tips for Those with Chronic Back Pain
1. Perform Consistent Doctor-recommended Exercises.
Your loved one should have a physician who helps her take steps to reduce her daily pain levels with exercise. Often, a physical therapist will meet with your loved one to show her how to perform the exercises safely and guide her through them but then it’s up to your loved one to continue to do them regularly.
Her physical therapist may help her learn about core strengthening, flexibility exercises, and stretching techniques to improve her back strength. At the same time, assisted living at home providers can ensure she has a safe environment to practice.
2. Watch What is Eaten
Some foods are inflammatory and will most likely increase the pain that your loved one lives with daily. Eliminating those foods from her diet will help her manage her back pain. Refined sugars, processed foods, and foods high in trans fat can all make back pain worse.
If your loved one is overweight, her weight may also be making her back pain worse, and the doctor may recommend a diet overhaul to help her reach a healthier weight.
3. Practice Meditation and Relaxation Exercises
Stress causes more pain, so striving to keep stress levels under control will help your loved one reduce the number of painful days she has. Ask your loved one what she likes to do to reduce stress or calm down, and help her incorporate those practices daily. Some examples could include yoga, walks, or journaling.
4. Say No to Activities that Hurt
While it can be frustrating to not be able to do everything she wants to do, avoiding activities (whether for pleasure like horseback riding or chores like shoveling) can prevent a bad flare-up and days of recuperation.
Assisted Living at Home Can Step in and Help
If your loved one needs help at home, an assisted living at home provider can step in and help her around the home with chores that she can no longer perform. Having a trusted person to help your loved one with assisted living at home can also free you up to manage other important aspects of your loved one’s care as well.
If you or an aging loved one are considering Assisted Living at Home in Englewood, CO, please contact the caring staff at Talem Home Care & Placement Services of Denver, CO, today. Call (303) 647-1800
At Talem Home Care & Placement Services of Denver, CO, we provide passionate, understanding, and flexible caregivers in Denver, Englewood, Lakewood, Aurora, Littleton, Highlands Ranch, Parker, Centennial, Lone Tree, Castle Pines, Castle Rock and surrounding areas in Colorado.
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