Adapting your life to meet your needs.

Sometimes life throws you curve balls and it requires you to adapt and overcome, but where do you start? What will you need? Who you gonna call? Ghostbusters, no, your favorite PTs and OTs. Luckily, we are trained to assist you in these areas. There are many reasons you may need to adapt things in your house and your life. Some of these are only for a short period of time and some of the adaptions will be life long changes. No matter what comes there are ways to accommodate your home and your life to still do the things you love with some minor adjustments or possibly adding some adaptive equipment. This article serves to discuss, in a broad spectrum, how to adapt your home and also, adaptive equipment that is available to meet your needs. Let's dive in and see what we have to offer.

Let's start with adapting homes for safety and independence. We all spend time at home. Whether you have osteoarthritis, rheumatoid, or psoriatic arthritis, or other diagnoses that limit your abilities, a few simple modifications can make cooking, bathing, laundry, and other household tasks easier. These changes can be done without spending a lot of money on remodeling or expensive equipment. There are ways to make your home safe and protect your joints. "The goal is to use adaptions to preserve your ability to perform activities of daily living."

Conserving Energy

The bathroom and kitchen are two areas where adaptions can help to manage pain and conserve energy.

Avoiding bending, and reaching whenever possible. Keep items at counter level and use a grabber to assist in retrieving items.

Purchase smaller size items that are easier to handle.

Sit while you are working in the kitchen, using an adjustable kitchen chair, stool or a rolling walker while doing meal preparation or washing dishes.

Consider preparing dinner at midday if your hands have pain in the evening.

Replace heavy cookware and dishes with lighter items

Use ergonomically designed kitchen tools

Obtain an electric can opener and consider buying pre-chopped fruits and vegetables

Avoid slips and falls

Consider using an adjustable bath bench or chair for the tub or shower

Install grab bars by and in the tub, shower and toilet

Install a higher toilet if it is difficult to sit and stand

Put slip mats in the tub or shower

Turn on a bedside lamp or a touch light if you need to use the bathroom at night

Stair and hallway safety

If your hips and knees are affected, you may benefit from a stair lift or ramp.

Install slip mats on the stairs

Use railings to go up and down the stairs

Install rails on outside steps

Remove throw rugs and secure the carpet

Clear pathways and clutter throughout the house

Other considerations to promote safety in your home.

Remove electrical cords from walkways.

Have at least one working smoke detector on every floor of your home.

Keep emergency numbers where they are easily found.

Keep the house bright with windows and lighting both day and night.

If you live alone, consider frequently making contact with a neighbor or relative.

If you use a walker, obtain a walker tray or bag, rather than carrying things in your hands.

Never stand on a chair, box, ladder, kitchen step stool, instead ask someone to help you to retrieve items above your reach.

Putting some of these suggestions in place may increase your independence in completing daily tasks and help you stay safe and lessen your fall risk.

Finally, let's finish with a piece on adaptive equipment. Adaptive equipment involves tools and modifications that help people with physical, sensory, or cognitive challenges perform daily activities (ADLs) and regain their independence. Common examples of these tools are depicted in the pictures above. Individuals who have conditions that limit their capabilities to complete daily tasks include arthritis, Parkinson’s disease, stroke, MS, upper body and hand weakness. Appropriate pieces of equipment can enhance a person’s fine motor skills and improve independence and self-esteem.

Daily tasks where equipment and or modifications can be helpful are:

Dressing, bathing, toileting, oral care, personal hygiene, meal preparation, eating, gardening and many other daily tasks. Also included are Instrumental Activities of Daily Living (IADLs) such as shopping, laundry, driving, and many more. If you are having difficulty performing any daily tasks, request a referral from your physician. An Occupational Therapist will evaluate your needs and assist you in regaining independence in completing daily activities.  

Hope all these modifications and suggestions gave you simple ideas on adaptations you can make to your home and adaptive equipment that may help your activities of daily living to make your life easier and with less pain. If you have questions with any of these items mentioned above or have trouble figuring you adaptations that can benefit you, give our OT a call today and schedule an appointment to see how we can hep you get back to living your life in ease and comfort.