Near the end of your senior’s life, you may need to be involved in helping to move her and to transfer her from one spot to another. If you’re not extremely careful, you can run a huge risk of hurting yourself while trying to help your loved one.

Respect Your Limitations from the Start

If you already know that you’re not very strong or that you have difficulty supporting someone else’s weight, you need to respect that right out of the gate. Failing to do that might cause you to attempt something that you can’t really do and that’s dangerous. Something you might want to consider is starting to improve your strength by lifting weights.

Protect Your Back

Most people already know that it’s not a good idea to use their back muscles to lift something heavy, but that’s easy to forget in the moment. Bend at the knees instead and use your leg muscles to your advantage. They’re the largest muscle group for most people, so rely on them. Don’t bend at your waist because that can cause you to try lifting with your back.

Move Closer to Your Senior

If you’re too far away from your family member, that’s going to make lifting or maneuvering her even more difficult. You have a little bit more control and strength when you keep your elderly family member close to your body. This keeps you from over reaching, too.

Pay Attention to Foot Spacing

Start becoming aware of where your feet are and how you place them. You want them to be staggered a little bit because that gives you more support. You also want them to be spaced a little farther apart than usual because that allows you to brace yourself a bit. Staggering your feet, especially if one is a little in front of the other, allows you to move forward and backward more quickly.

Don’t Rush

The biggest thing to remember about this is that if you’re rushing, you’re going to make more mistakes. That means that you’re more likely to hurt yourself and that is never a good thing at all. Take your time and make sure that you give yourself and your senior plenty of time to move from one position to another.

If you’re having trouble with transferring your family member or helping her to change positions, hospice elder care providers can show you some tips and tricks that can work in your specific situation. Above all, don’t put yourself in a bad position just to try to move your family member because you could very easily wind up hurting both of you.

If you or your aging loved one could benefit from Hospice Care in Holly Hill, SC, contact the caring staff at Grove Park Hospice, (803) 536-6644.