The world’s healthcare industry has arguably experienced one of its most tumultuous periods in history over the last two years. In addition to large-scale shifts that had already begun to roil within healthcare by the beginning of 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic pushed its capacity for widespread emergency and policy response to the limit.

Recent happenings and the looming uncertainties that will carry us into the new year have revealed both the healthcare industry’s dogged capacity and its significant deficiencies. The healthcare industry faces significant challenges in both the current climate and as it looks forward into the future of healthcare support and service delivery.

Current Gaps in Healthcare Service Provision

A few areas within healthcare service stand out as places of particular need and urgency.

In light of the current climate, pandemic response and public health policy is an area of primary concern for healthcare providers and governance as they work through the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as implement learnings that can help lessen the impact of widespread viral outbreaks in the future.

From the state of hospitals and healthcare provision to new operational norms in business, education, travel, and more, COVID’s impact has caused fundamental changes to many spheres of life. The healthcare industry is working to apply the lessons learned as a result of the pandemic to everything from protocols in healthcare provision settings to communication practice amongst healthcare professionals, increased protective measures for all stakeholders, public health awareness and policy, and more.

Staff shortages and burnout currently plague the healthcare industry, dramatically straining available staff and inhibiting the quality of healthcare provision. COVID imposed huge demands on healthcare workers of almost every variety starting in early 2020, and many workloads have remained unsustainably heightened for almost two straight years. Vaccine requirements that have resulted in mass layoffs or resignations in many healthcare systems compound staff shortages and make this an urgent priority for the healthcare industry.

Also, better care services for underserved populations is also a forefront objective for today’s healthcare industry. Fueled by greater societal awareness and public pressure over the past 3-5 years, the healthcare system is working to repair and reverse existing discrepancies and inequities that disproportionately hinder some members of society from receiving adequate healthcare.

Statistics released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in June 2021 show that across a range of minority groups including ​​African Americans, Latinos, and American Indians and Alaska Natives, rates of COVID contraction, hospitalization, and death significantly surpassed those of white populations. And this trend runs much deeper than COVID. For these minority groups, as well as others including persons who are unhoused, have disabilities, or are not proficient English speakers, healthcare support is far more difficult to obtain and health conditions or problems that should be preventable or treatable are more devastating. These realities are being identified and addressed in some areas of healthcare, but much more needs to be done to eliminate the disparity in healthcare provision amongst minority groups.

Looking Forward: Where the Healthcare Industry is Heading

Though these issues are significant and systemic, the healthcare industry is being propelled forward by strategic initiatives to address them.

Moving the healthcare industry (and the world) past the pandemic will take awareness, innovative solutions, and systemic changes. It will not be easy. However, care is already being taken to educate both healthcare industry members as well as those in other sectors on the best ways to operate in a post-COVID world. Creating proactive health policies and procedures to keep people safe, maintain good working conditions, and mitigate the risk of future widespread health concerns could help keep another pandemic similar to the breadth and duration of COVID-19 at bay.

Part of advancing the healthcare industry and enabling it to improve support and services in the coming decade will require effectively utilizing technology. Technology’s use within the healthcare industry has blossomed in recent years. COVID’s effects accelerated those developments, necessitating broader applications of telehealth and virtual healthcare provision. Everything from patient check-ups, consultations, and some forms of testing have been adapted to be offerable online and via remote channels rather than requiring a patient to visit a healthcare facility.

Other areas where technology is being rapidly mobilized and applied to healthcare provision include robotic technologies that can assist with surgeries; artificial intelligence (AI) softwares that provide diagnostic and screening analysis; robust patient data platforms that reduce the risk of incorrect treatment and mistakes; machines that can automatically medications and treatment automatically; and more. As technology continues to advance and its utilization increases throughout the healthcare industry, it will increase care quality and precision while lessening the workload for overburdened healthcare personnel.

Though current conditions are challenging and will require concerted efforts to navigate, the healthcare industry has the necessary tools in the forms of not only advances in technology but a diverse and seasoned workforce to weather the current climate and bring forth the next era of healthcare provision.

Old age comes with many challenges, and one of them is limited mobility, which might require you to be wheelchair bound.

Regardless of such constriction, you can still lead a normal, happy and fulfilled life, especially when you regularly exercise your body. And being a wheelchair bound senior cannot stop you from exercising regularly and enjoying the benefits of a healthy lifestyle.

There are hundreds of wheelchair exercises that you can try out. But knowing a few of those exercises and doing them daily is all you need to effectively achieve your fitness goals.

In this article, we have helped you to compile the 6 best and most essential wheelchair exercises for seniors and some of the benefits you can derive from doing those exercises regularly to have a fit and strong body.

6 Best Exercises for Wheelchair Bound Seniors

The various exercises that we shall be discussing below aren’t just the best for your daily exercise routine, they are equally essential to help you maintain a healthy and comfortable lifestyle. The follow exercises will work on your core, abs, waist, legs and your overall body to give you a complete fitness.

1. Arm Stretches

This simple exercise will effectively work on your arm and upper body region.

Procedure:

It can be done when you comfortably sit in an upright position and gradually extend your arms out in the front while interlacing your fingers. Gradually raise your arms as high as possible while keeping your hands clasps together. Then proceed to slowly lower your hands downward. You can do this exercise repeatedly for 5 to 10 minutes regularly, and slowly increase the duration as you become used to the exercise.

2. Knee Lift

If you can still move your lower body, especially your legs, this is a good exercise to engage in. It will greatly help to keep your knees and lower body energized and strong.

Procedure:

Start by holding on to your wheelchair. While sitting comfortably in the chair, begin to gradually lift your knee up as high as you are capable of reaching. Don’t go too high if you won’t feel comfortable. Once your knee is up, stay like that for a few seconds and gradually bring your foot back to the floor. Do this process again for at least 5 to 6 times before repeating the same exercise with the other knee.

For a start, you can spend 3 to 5 minutes for each knee and increase the duration as you master the exercise.

3. Swimming Strokes

You don’t have to be in the pool before displaying your swimming skills. You can always do that while on your chair and still get a good result on the core parts of the body that swimming helps to take care of.

Procedure:

Imitate the swimming strokes 5 to 7 times by using your arms. You can also alternate it by doing different types of swimming strokes like backstroke, butterfly, and freestyle. Do this for 5 to 10 minutes for a start, and gradually increase the duration to 15 minutes as you get used to it.

4. Taking a Deep Breath

Breathing in and out is another essential simple exercise that most people take for granted. However, you’ll be amazed to know the various health benefits it gives to your body. It is a great exercise that can lower your stress level and make you feel relaxed.

Procedure

Simply start this exercise by breathing through your nose and gradually exhale slowly by using your mouth. You can repeat this cycle for about 15 go 30 seconds, and do the exercise for 5 to 10 minutes or more. It all depends on you and how great your breathing technique is.

5. Abdominal Twist

Here is another great exercise that works effectively on your waist, spine and upper body in general.

Procedure:

Sit on our wheelchair in the upright position while maintaining a straight spine. Slowly extend our spine as you twist your upper body to the left while holding the position for about 10 seconds before switching sides. This exercise can be done for 5 to 10 times on each side. It all depends on how long you can go.

6. Shoulder Openers

This type of exercise requires a dowel or broomstick to perform. It’s a great exercise that works well on your shoulders and arms.

Procedure:

While sitting in a comfortable or upright position, hold the broomstick in a strong grip with your hands as you maintain a position that is wider than your shoulders. Begin to gradually raise the broomstick above your head as you maintain a straight arm. Then stretch the broomstick behind your head for about 5 to 10 seconds until you can feel a stretch. Repeat this process 5 to 10 times or more for optimum result. However, you can do this exercise for a longer duration once you get used to it.

Benefits to Derive from Exercising in Wheelchair

• It makes you feel relax, good and boosts your overall health and wellness
• Exercising in wheelchair helps to increase your flexibility, mobility and strength
• It makes your blood circulate properly, gives you a stable posture and stabilizes your spine
• It helps to reduce your stress level and equally maintains your fitness level to a large extent
• It helps you to fight obesity and keeps your weight in check
• Exercising in wheelchair tones your muscles and relieves you from joint pains if you are suffering from one.

Conclusion

Being wheelchair bound should not restrict you from exercising regularly, especially if you are a fitness enthusiast. As a matter of fact, exercising your body has various benefits it does to your health as discussed above.

It is pertinent to note that being a wheelchair user would require you to do some consultation with your doctor on the best exercise for you, especially if you are on medication.

Once you’ve gotten your doctor’s approval for all or some of the exercises that we’ve discussed in this article, you are good to go on with your exercise routine as you continue to lead a healthy lifestyle.

Nighttime can be a particularly stressful time for a resident with mobility issues in your care facility. They must not only manage the process of preparing for bed, which includes washing, changing, and toileting, but they may also be concerned about waking up in the middle of the night.

As a result, your care facility must have the appropriate bedroom aids in place to best assist its residents and carers. Having the appropriate aids reduces risk and stress while also improving residents’ quality of life.

What, on the other hand, are the best bedroom aids for a care facility to use? The three major categories, as well as how they can best assist residents, are listed below.

Profile beds

Those with limited mobility, the elderly, and the disabled benefit from high-quality profiling beds because they provide a comfortable environment in which to relax, sleep well, and stay healthy.

A profiling bed is a height-adjustable bed that enables caregivers to raise the head or foot with ease. Raising the head provides support when sitting upright in bed to do activities such as socialising or eating. Raising the foot can help with blood circulation, washing, and pressure management by allowing the carer to turn the resident more easily.

Nursing homes, the broader nursing care industry, and private homes will all benefit from profiling care beds. They are typically sold in pairs, as singles, with or without mattresses, and are available in two different types: manual and electric.

Those who use profiling beds frequently use special pressure mattresses. For use with patients who are at high risk of developing pressure ulcers or who already have one, pressure mattresses are typically made of high-quality foam. The mattress provides optimal, evenly distributed pressure and support to reduce shear and friction.

Bedroom aids

Bed aids are specialised devices that help people who need extra help get ready for bed. Some aids improve comfort by working within the bed, while others work on or near the bed to make it easier for the user to move around the room. They’re all designed to lower risk, reduce stress, and give you a good night’s sleep.

In order to gain confidence and independence in the bedroom, those who are confined to bed for long periods of time, have a disability, or suffer from age-related health problems require bed aids.

Some of the items available include profiling beds and mattress elevators that can incline to a sitting position, T-Rolls and leg positioning aids for proper leg positioning in bed, and bed fleeces for warmth, comfort, and pressure relief.

As bedroom aids, wireless nurse call systems, including alert mats for the floor and chairs, as well as nurse call buttons, are available. All call systems are designed to reassure users that help is always on the way.

Hoists and assistive devices for standing

Choosing the right stand aid or hoist for moving and handling can make a big difference in the safety, comfort, and quality of life of the person you’re caring for. The right mobility aids allow for easy movement with minimal distress and risk of injury when moving the person in your care from one location to another.

Hoists and stand aids for care environments include lifting poles that safely assist the user in sitting upright in bed and transfer belts that assist the caregiver in lifting a person to and from their bed. These items help to reduce the stress and strains of everyday movement while also improving the quality of care given to those who receive it.

Many bedroom aids can assist carers in assisting the residents they care for, so you can narrow down the types of devices that will be most beneficial to you and them by using the categories above as a guide.

When looking for a new bedroom aid, go to Wippet, the UK’s healthcare marketplace. Wippet has all of the top care brands in one convenient location, so you can get exactly what you need to help those in your care.