When you have a parent that has become somewhat weak on their feet and perhaps maybe even a little feeble, you may find yourself in a situation in which your parent has suffered a fall and fractured some of the vertebrae in their spine. While this is rare in younger adults, the elderly, especially the elderly with osteoporosis or other conditions that make their bones frail, are prone to such injuries.
If this has happened to your parent recently, you might be wondering how you can provide them with care and support through their recovery process. Find out some of the ways that you can help your parent so you can get started doing what you can as soon as possible.
Encourage Them to Go Through with Any Recommended Surgeries
Because older people have so much trouble with fractures and healing from damaged or broken bones, your parent's physicians will likely recommend some kind of surgical procedure to help repair the damage. Most of the procedures that are performed on spinal fractures are minimally invasive and are designed to help stabilize the spine so that it can heal and the fractures do not get worse.
However, there are other options available when a person fractures their spine, and one of those options is to wait and see if the injury is able to heal on its own. It is understandable that your parent may want to avoid going though with a surgery if at all possible. The problem with this is that their spine could actually become further injured in the process.
As such, if your parent's doctors are recommending a surgical procedure, you should encourage your parent to adhere to their doctor's advice and go through with the surgery. This is usually the fastest way to recovery and the best means of lowering the chances of further injury.
Consider Hiring In-Home Caretakers to Help Your Parent
Whether your parent opts to have the surgery or not, their spine will need time, rest, and eventually physical therapy to heal properly. They will likely have movement restrictions including limited use of stairs, no lifting, and no bending (i.e. bending over or bending at the waist). Your parent could even require assistance getting in and out of bed, the shower, and the like.
Because of this, it would be good to consider hiring in-home caretakers for your parent. In-home caretakers can be hired to provide 24-hour care or just come in for certain times of the day when you need to be at work or your parent needs help with certain tasks. These caregivers can help with mobility and lifting, dressing and bathing or showering, and even doing your parent's physical therapy exercises with them. Having these professional caregivers around to take care of your parent if and when you cannot can give you peace of mind and help to ensure your parent heals as well and as quickly as possible.
With these steps in mind, you can be sure you are doing your best to support your parent after they have fallen and fractured their vertebrae.
