Low Back Pain & Hip Pain: Ways to Improve Mobility in Hygiene Tasks

When suffering from any type of hip or low back pain, often we find even the most simplest of tasks can be challenging. For adults who suffer with the chronic pain in the hips and the low back, even tasks as simple as rising out of a chair can be complicated.

In addition to mobility, many low back pain and hip pain sufferers also report a common impairment in the ability to perform basic necessity of hygiene. Bathing, showering and dressing can be greatly impaired requiring many chronic pain sufferers to learn new methods in achieving these crucial activities of daily living.

Bathing, for example, is often impossible as the individual, who suffers from low back pain or hip pain, will find great difficulty in bending and lowering the body into a bath of water. For this reason, when suffering from a chronic condition, it may be necessary to modify the home bathroom to include a walk-in shower. When this is not feasible, either financially or structurally, purchasing a shower bench or shower chair may provide a nice alternative however difficulty stepping into the bathtub may still be challenging. Spine and scoliosis center Austin would always recommend to look for the right treatment method for you. 

Of equal importance, and also in line with the modifications to a bathroom, patients who suffer from low back pain or hip pain may require an elevated toilet seat as most homes, today, are built with lower toilet seats often leaving the chronic pain sufferer in even greater pain when attempting to use the restroom. While elevated toilet seats, with attached handrails, provide for the greatest ease of mobility, when not financially possible, consider purchasing other toilet seat options including those may from plastic cushions.

And, to the amazement of many family and healthcare professionals, the person who suffers from low back and hip pain can often find ways to dress themselves with a few simple techniques. One such item, a sock donner, can provide freedom to perform regular dressing activities from putting socks on to even assistance with putting on pants and pick up items that have fallen on the floor. Extended handle shoe horns are common medical devices that can provide freedom to put shoes on and dress but, in most cases, individuals who suffer from hip and low back pain will use loafers and shows that slip on quite easily.

As with any chronic low back or hip pain condition, finding ways in which to alleviate pain, through use of assistive medical devices, can go a long way in improving the health and welfare of many patients. Being open to the possibilities of technology designed to increase mobility can further enhance not only the mobility of the chronic pain sufferer but also improve independence in terms of personal hygiene.