It’s tough to believe, but some decisions your elderly family member is making, even in good faith, could be contributing to the pain she’s feeling on a daily basis. Seeing how those choices are making pain worse isn’t always easy to do, though. 

Concentrating on Her Pain 

Sometimes the things that people focus on become bigger and more of an elephant in the room. It’s the same with pain. No one is saying to ignore the pain, but if your senior is constantly focused on how much pain she’s experiencing, she might not be feeling much relief from any solutions. Having something else to focus on, even for a little while, might help a little bit. 

Eating Less Healthy Foods 

It’s really difficult to do a lot of things when someone is in pain. Your senior might find it difficult to walk, to stand at the stove, and to do even small things, like make a healthy choice in the first place. The foods your senior is eating now need to be high in nutritional value, which means they’re more likely to be whole fruits and vegetables, proteins that need to be cooked, and whole grains that may require preparation. That’s a lot to manage. Having someone else doing the cooking, like elder care providers, gives her a chance to eat healthier foods without expending energy she doesn’t have. 

Trying to Do Too Much 

Some people who experience chronic pain routinely try to do way too much on a regular basis. This drive to keep pushing, through the pain and through exhaustion, can take a massive toll on your elderly family member. She may find that when she does actually rest for a bit, she’s in need of far more rest than usual. This is another situation in which elder care providers can be a huge assistance because they can take over some of those tasks and remind your senior to rest. 

Refusing to Go to the Doctor 

Often aging adults who are in pain and who don’t have solutions for that pain might consider going to the doctor to be a waste of time. That can be a big problem, especially if other issues and health concerns are going unaddressed. Your senior might need your encouragement in order to keep going to her doctor.  

Your elderly family member might find that making some small changes to how she approaches her lifestyle could actually help her with pain relief. None of these are a magic bullet solution, but they may help her to feel stronger and therefore a bit better. 

If you or an aging loved-one is considering Elder Care in Richardson, TX please contact the caring staff at Sunlife Home Care today at (877) 888-1311.