What Does Your Senior Need to Know about Walking Safely?

By Kevin Edwards | March 15, 2021 |

Walking for exercise and to clear her mind might be just what your senior needs. It’s easy to do and it can have a huge positive impact on your elderly family member. It is something she can do with an in-home care aide too.

Walking in Urban Areas

In-Home Care Lenexa KS - What Does Your Senior Need to Know about Walking Safely? — In-Home Care Lenexa KS – What Does Your Senior Need to Know about Walking Safely?

Walking in the city means that your elderly family member needs to pay close attention to her environment. There are likely to be a lot of cars and maybe even a lot of pedestrian traffic. It’s important that your elderly family member is prepared to walk safely, with assistive devices if necessary, as well as proper footwear. She needs to make sure she obeys all foot traffic rules in her area, especially when she’s crossing the street. It might be even better for your elderly family member to stick to walking in city parks or on designated walking paths, to be even safer.

Walking in More Rural Areas

If your senior lives in a more rural area, she might just walk around her neighborhood. But this can come with different rules. Walking along a sidewalk is always preferable to walking on or next to the road. Your elderly family member can’t relax her guard just because she’s not in downtown, either. She needs to be watching closely to see if there is traffic headed her way. That in mind, she should always walk facing oncoming traffic, so that she can see and be seen more readily.

Walking Inside

There may be a lot of places where your elderly family member can walk inside safely. The first option is within her own home, of course. Either walking with a treadmill or walking in place is possible, and these are both ways that are easy for your elderly family member to get plenty of walking in. If she wants to get out of the house, walking at a mall or indoor shopping center might be a perfect idea. Especially on certain days or at specific times of the day, there might not be a lot of people there to get in your senior’s way. Lots of senior walking groups meet at malls, too, so your senior might meet new friends.

Getting some help from in-home care aides

If your elderly family member is open to the idea, it’s a good idea for her to walk with someone else. In-home care providers walking with her can be a great choice for lots of reasons, especially if your elderly family member is just getting into walking.

If you or an aging loved-one are considering In-Home Care Services in the Lenexa KS area, please contact the caring staff at Elder Care of Kansas City, today. Proudly serving Jackson, Clay, Platte and Cass Counties in Missouri as well as Johnson and Wyandotte Counties in Kansas for over 30 years. Call us at 816-333-3322.

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Kevin Edwards

Owner at Elder Care of Kansas City

Kevin’s life and the lives of his immediate family have been impacted by caregivers – either as a patient or a caregiver - for as long as he can remember.He watched his mother take care of his grandmother until her death at the age of 97.Five years later, his father passed from a neurological disorder that was subsequently confirmed as Lewy Body Dementia.In 2007, his wife, Lori, was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis.The symptoms of Lori’s disease required Kevin to hire a caregiver during the periods of her relapses.

Prior to purchasing Elder Care, Kevin spent over 20 years in the health insurance industry.In his most recent position, he was in a financial operations role with Humana where he worked with doctors, nurses and other health professionals developing programs to keep Humana members healthy.Their focus on primary care and medication adherence improved the lives of thousands of seniors in Kansas City and the surrounding area.

Kevin and his wife, Lori, have three children.Kevin has Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees from the University of Missouri.