Helping Your Senior Loved One Recover From Knee Replacement Surgery: Tips For You
When you have a loved one who is a senior and needs to have a knee replacement surgery, you may wonder what you can expect from the process, and even more importantly what you can do to help them and support them as they recover after their surgical procedure is finished. While you and your loved one may never have gone through this process before, there are many ways that you can work together to get through the recovery process safely and successfully and get your senior loved one back on their feet in no time. Get to know a few of the steps that you can take to help your senior loved one in their surgical recovery process.
Prepare Their House For Limited Mobility Before They Come Home
When your loved one returns home after they have their knee replacement surgery, they will be under physical limitations both in what they can and should do. Your loved one will essentially need to re-learn how to walk and move as their knee heals and recovers. This can create some challenges in their home.
They will be working with a walker and then a cane for several weeks or months after surgery and will need a wider space to maneuver their assisting devices around the house. You may need to rearrange furniture to create wider walkways. If your loved one has a bedroom that is upstairs in the house, you will have to also help them set up a sleeping area on the main floor to avoid going up or down the stairs until they are safely able to do so.
Other issues to consider is the fact that it will be difficult for them to rise from a seated position to standing. This may require a raised toilet seat and supportive handlebars around the toilet to allow them to be safe when using the restroom.
Go To Physical Therapy With Them And Help Them With Their Homework
One of the best ways to help ensure that your loved one recovers from their knee replacement surgery as successfully and quickly as possible is to be sure that they do their physical therapy. Going with them to their physical therapy appointments is the first step in this process.
When you are in the physical therapy sessions with your loved one, you will be able to see the exercises the physical therapist does with them and see first hand how they should be performed and executed. You will also know exactly what levels and types of exercises and activities your loved one should be doing when they are at home. This, in turn, will help you to be able to monitor your loved one's adherence to their physical therapy treatment protocol and work on their "homework" with them.
Now that you know a few of the ways to help your senior loved one as they recover from their knee replacement surgery, you can get started in the process and help your loved one get back on their feet as soon as possible. To learn more, contact a company like Hillcrest Nursing Center.
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