How Rehabilitation Benefits Seniors in Assisted Living

When kids fall down or accidentally slip in the muddy backyard, it’s usually not a cause for concern, especially if there’s no sore spot or wound, right?

But as people grow older, their bones become brittle and weaker by the year, making falls and slipping accidents highly likely, which is a significant concern. In fact, the CDC reported that about 36 million seniors in the US get in fall accidents each year, and the majority of them got injured and acquired hip fractures. 

Most seniors who suffer a nasty fall need to be taken immediately to the hospital for emergency services. Some of the most common injuries a loved one may get after the accident include:

• Soreness of the body part that received most of the fall’s impact.
• Injury or fracture in the hip, head, legs, forearm, and pelvis.
• Dizziness if the head was injured.
• Loss of mobility in certain parts of the body.

Addressing falls differs depending on the gravity of the accident and the injury received. Minor ones may only require a day of hospitalization, but major falls are a different story. After an incident, most older adults stay in the hospital for about one to four days then get transferred to a facility to start rehabilitation.

Some elderlies would want to forgo rehabilitative care when they “feel” fine after a fall. However, rehabilitation is an essential therapy for seniors who experienced falls and other accidents, and here’s why.

What Is Senior Rehabilitation?

Geriatric rehabilitation refers to a form of elder care, usually ordered by a doctor, that helps older adults recover from an illness, surgery, or injury. It aims to improve their mobility, restore independence, and get them back to their once active and healthy lifestyle.

Senior rehab care often caters to seniors recovering from a stroke or heart attack, brain injury, hip fracture, joint replacement, and amputation. There are two types of rehabilitative care, short-term and long-term rehabilitation, depending on the senior’s situation.

You will most likely encounter two healthcare professionals in rehab facilities: a physical therapist who will help improve your mobility and address other medical issues, and an occupational therapist who will ensure that you’ll get back to doing personal activities (e.g., grooming, bathing, dressing) in no time.

Benefits of Rehabilitation for Older Adults

Rehabilitative care’s number one goal is to restore the elderly’s mobility, physical health, and independence. However, that’s not where the benefits of rehab stop. You or your loved one can reap tons of advantages to help your senior live a healthier, longer, and happier life. Some of the benefits include:

1. Recovery and Improved Health

One of the most obvious yet important benefits of senior rehabilitation is your loved one recovering from illness or injury. 

The different physical therapy treatments will help bring back and improve their strength, balance, flexibility, and overall mobility. In addition, therapists will work with your loved one while ensuring that they feel little to no pain or discomfort at all. 

Additionally, rehabilitation will help older adults positively adapt to the new way of living in case they obtain a more permanent injury. 

For instance, newly amputated seniors will find that there are still many everyday tasks they can do while being confined in a wheelchair. They will learn different techniques to make daily tasks easier or perform exercises that can help build their physical body to adapt to this new lifestyle.

2. Personalized Treatments and 24/7 Care Services

Senior rehabilitation in assisted living in Simi Valley provides 24/7 care and supportive services for their residents. There’s round-the-clock monitoring from doctors, nurses, and caregivers, especially for recovering seniors. Some services provided include:

• Professional healthcare services like wound dressing, medication administration, and health monitoring.
• Meals provided by dietitians.
• Exercise classes and rehabilitation programs from therapists.
• 24/7 assistance with daily living activities while residents recover.
• Social activities.
• Counseling services.

Furthermore, rehab facilities give personalized treatments to each senior to cater to their personal and medical needs efficiently. Plus, services target a wide array of ailments and conditions, from speech therapy to physical ones.

3. Emotional Support

Seniors who experienced significant injuries from falls or any other ailments requiring rehabilitative care often need emotional support as well. 

Sudden accidents resulting in huge life changes can bring your senior loved one so much stress and anxiety. Not to mention the emotional turmoil they feel with what happened to them. 

Therapists and caregivers in rehab centers know this; that’s why they also offer emotional support to their patients on top of rehabilitative care. They make it a point to let seniors know that there is definitely a good life that awaits them despite their situation. 

4. Restored Independence and Self-Confidence

Being confined in a wheelchair or having speech troubles due to a fall-related injury can wreak havoc on an elderly’s confidence and independence. Fortunately, senior rehabilitation helps seniors regain their independence by helping them gradually bring back their mobility. 

Additionally, rehab care also helps adults who permanently lost their mobility to adapt to a certain lifestyle to bring back their independence. 

As seniors work their way towards their goal in rehab, little by little, they will eventually restore their self-confidence and have the courage to keep going and achieve their full potential.

5. Enhance Quality of Life

Seniors actively participating in rehabilitative services can ultimately return to their usual, functioning selves with an enhanced quality of life. With all the physical therapies, exercises, and nutritional meals in assisted living in Simi Valley, elderlies will go out ready to face the challenges that life brings.

Additionally, the improved mental and emotional state they develop in senior rehab can help them lead a stress-free and happy life.

After rehabilitation, your senior loved one can go back to being active, pursuing the things they love, and enjoying their life to the fullest.

Conclusion

The bottom line is that senior rehabilitation in assisted living in Simi Valley can help seniors return to their independent selves by as much as 80%. Thus, making rehab care an essential elder care option for seniors who endured falls and other accidents.