Balance issues are nothing to put off, but your senior might be avoiding talking to her doctor. If she asks a few of these questions, she can start putting a plan together to deal with what’s happening.
Can He Test Her Balance and Steadiness?
You and your senior might have both noticed that she’s having trouble walking or trouble maintaining her balance, but how bad is it? Her doctor can do some testing with your senior to assess where her balance is in terms of good or bad and how bad it might have gotten. The benefit of doing this sort of testing now is that it gives her doctor a baseline that he can use in the future to assess any changes, whether she improves or has bigger issues.
What Changes Will She Experience in Her Ability to Walk?
Depending on your senior’s current health, existing health conditions, and willingness to make some changes, she may be facing a big problem when it comes to walking in the future. If she’s reluctant to walk now with the changes she’s experiencing, she may be making walking even more difficult for her future self. Her doctor can help her to understand how any changes she makes now can impact her future.
Will She Need a Cane or a Walker?
It’s important to know whether a cane or a walker would be helpful, both now and in the future. If these assistive devices are necessary, your senior’s doctor can help her to fit them to her stature and stride. He can also help her to learn how to use them properly. She may need physical therapy to get the most from these new tools.
Should She Make Any Changes to Improve Her Balance?
Hearing about changes you suggest might not be enough to fire up your senior and get her motivated. Hearing about potential changes from her doctor can have a different effect altogether. Encourage your elderly family member to talk to her doctor about these possible changes. Seeing them in a new light, or even from the perspective of avoiding a worse fate, can be a powerful motivational tool.
Taking the time to ask the right questions can help your elderly family member to understand the severity of her balance issues. From there she may be more willing to accept help from you or from elderly care providers when she needs it.