If you’re suffering through some mobility issues, be it due to an injury or because of old age, dealing with stairs can be one of the hardest parts of your day.
While you may not have to go upstairs very much if you live in a facility like an assisted living community or a home with no stairs or an elevator, if stairs are a part of your daily life, knowing how to work with them and around them is vital.
To help you in doing this, here are three tips for navigating stairs with mobility issues.
Have A Plan in Place
Before you get onto the stairs, it’s wise to have a plan in place for how you’ll tackle this obstacle in your current physical condition. This way, you don’t get up the stairs and suddenly realize that you’re ill-prepared for what you have to do and have no way to safely continue or go back.
As part of your plan and preparation, you should determine which side of your body is stronger and can be relied on more to take the brunt of the weight when going up and down the stairs.
As a good rule of thumb, it’s safest to lead with your good foot going up and your bad foot going down. This will help you to be more stable and will give your body the best shot at using the stairs safely.
Use Supportive Aids
For most stairs, there will be some kind of handrail that you can use to support yourself as you go up or down. But if this is only on one side of the stairs, or if there aren’t any handrails for you to hold onto, you’ll want to find other supportive aids that you can use while on the stairs.
If you have a cane or a walker that you use to get around, you can also use these items when you’re using the stairs to give you some extra support. Additionally, something like a shower chair can also be used if you have one leg that shouldn’t have any weight put on it.
Work On Your Physical Fitness
Sometimes, the stairs might be challenging simply because your body isn’t strong enough to handle them well. So, if your body can be made stronger, stairs may not be as much of a problem for you.
To help you get to this point, there are certain exercises you can do to help strengthen your body and improve your physical fitness for climbing the stairs. Some of the exercises you’ll want to do will include wall squats, calf raises, hip strengthening exercises, and more.
If you need some help navigating stairs, consider using the tips mentioned above.
