5 Conditions That Require Mobility Aids
There are a few medical conditions that require mobility support. If you have the below-listed diseases, then it becomes difficult to balance the body. At times you do require aids that can help you move. While suffering from such diseases, you require that extra support to help your body lift the weight of your upper body. Read further to know what five medical conditions can require you to use mobility aids.
1. Ataxia:
Ataxia is an umbrella term that is used for a group of neurological conditions. Its symptoms include poor coordination, walking unsteadily, poor balancing issues, change in speech, and difficulty performing motor tasks and swallowing as well.
There are different types of ataxia, like episodic ataxia, multiple system atrophy, and many more. Though there is no cure for ataxia, the symptoms can be treated individually. The main aim of the treatment is to improve the mobility and comfort level of such patients.
Physical therapy and specified exercises help maintain balance and smoothly complete daily activities.
2. Arthritis:
Arthritis is swelling on a joint and tenderness on other joints. Its symptoms include joint pain, stiffness, swelling, and reddening of certain joints, decreasing their range of motion. Arthritis patients have mobility issues.
In such cases, mobility aids like canes and wheelchairs come into play. The main aim of the treatment is to relieve pain and reduce inflammation. Because wear and tear damage the joint cartilages, it may cause changes in the bones and deterioration of connecting tissues that attach muscles and bones and attach them together. It can be caused because of family history, age, obesity, or a previous joint injury.
3. Diabetes:
A diabetic patient feels very thirsty and often urinates at night. Diabetic patients lose weight without trying to, feel hungry most of the time, with blurry vision, have numb or tingling hands and feet, feel tired most of the time, and have dry skin.
Treatment for diabetes involves insulin injections, insulin pumps, regular blood sugar checks, and carbohydrate counting. Diabetes causes motor problems as well as foot diseases. Some diabetic patients face mobility issues, thus requiring mobility aids such as a walking stick or a cane for walking on a daily basis.
4. Cerebral Palsy:
Cerebral Palsy is an umbrella term used for a group of disorders that affects a person’s ability to move, balance, and maintain a fit posture. Its symptoms include exaggerated reflexes and movement disorder, with stiffness in muscles and many involuntary movements.
It is treated with medication, surgery, and therapy. The major concern is to reduce the symptoms while relieving the pain.
With tight and overly toned muscles, you need to control difficult movements. Patients with such diseases require the help of different aids to help balance their bodies. So, these people use disability aids that can help them properly.
5. Amputation:
If you find pain or numbness in the leg or foot, with a slow healing process for your wounds, a shiny, smooth, dry skin on the foot with thickening toenails, then there are high chances that you have Amputation.
Its treatment includes sealing your wounds surgically with stitches and a surgical stapler, removing the excess fluid. The wound is then covered with a bandage for a few days to reduce the risk of infections.
For mobility issues, Amputation patients use disability aids so that it is easy for them to walk and not depend on anyone else.
Conclusion:
There are many diseases and common injuries and fractures that people experience, and thus need a mobility aid or a disability aid. Especially for the elderly, these aids are required because of their weakening muscles and joints; their feet find it difficult to balance and hold the weight of their upper body. Thus, as a caregiver, you need to make sure that you provide your elderly with proper mobility support if they suffer from any of the listed diseases.
