How Knee Arthritis Can Reduce Senior Independence
Homemaker services can help seniors suffering from knee arthritis with household chores.
Living with arthritis in the knees can be incredibly challenging, especially for seniors who wish to maintain their independence. The pain and discomfort may lead your loved one to limit her activities, fearing injury or struggling with the increased pain that follows activity. This can make daily tasks, such as managing a home, feel overwhelming. Homemaker services can provide vital support, allowing seniors with knee arthritis to maintain their independence while receiving help with household tasks.
Osteoarthritis in the knees is one of the most common types of arthritis among seniors, making this support even more essential.
What is Arthritis in the Knee?
Arthritis is a disease that often affects large, weight-bearing joints like the knees. It causes inflammation that damages the cartilage, leading to pain, swelling, and limited mobility. For seniors, arthritis in the knees can make everyday activities, such as cleaning, cooking, or running errands, increasingly difficult. This is where homemaker services can help, stepping in to assist with tasks that have become too painful or physically demanding.
There are more than 100 types of arthritis that can affect the knees, with osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis being the most common in older adults.
Symptoms of Arthritis in the Knees
The early symptoms of arthritis are often overlooked or ignored. Your loved one may think her knees hurt because she used them too much or put undue strain on them. As the disease progresses, the symptoms will progress as well.
- Pain when walking, as well as pain when using the joint after rest.
- Difficulty walking. You might notice your loved one seems to hobble a bit or goes a lot slower than before. Stairs can become especially difficult, both going up and coming down.
- Noises from the knees when bending such as grinding, clicking, or creaking.
- The knee locking or freezing in position.
- Knees buckling when weight is put on them, such as when going down stairs or when trying to stand from a sitting position.
- Changes in pain levels when the weather changes. Cold and damp weather can be especially painful.
- The skin around the knee becomes discolored and/or warm.
Factors That May Increase Your Loved One’s Risk of Developing Knee Arthritis
While anyone can develop arthritis, there are risk factors that may increase the likelihood that your loved one will develop arthritis in her knees and suffer from it.
- Obesity can lead to painful knees by having to support the extra weight.
- Anyone over the age of 50 has a higher risk of arthritis in the knees.
- Having a job or having worked in an industry that puts undue stress on the knees, such as home improvement jobs like floor installers or jobs where someone is on their feet a lot like nurses.
- Has suffered a bad injury to her knee in earlier years, like a sports injury or a car accident.
- A family history of autoimmune diseases.
Getting Support in Homemaker Services
Since knee pain can be limiting and make your loved one feel like she can’t maintain her home, she might begin to worry that she’ll no longer be able to live independently. The good news is that she can still live and thrive in her home with a little help from homemaker services.
A homemaker services team can step in and assist in home care tasks that your loved one is not able to perform on her own due to the pain and swelling of her knees. From helping with carrying loads of laundry to cleaning the floors to walking the dog, a homemaker services provider provides more than just homemaker services; she helps your loved one live out her dreams of remaining in her home and keeping it at a cleanliness quality that makes her happy.
If you or an aging loved one are considering Homemaker Services in Evanston, IL, contact the caring staff at Companion Services of America today at (847) 948-0860. Our home care service area includes Northbrook, Highland Park, Deerfield, Glenview, Buffalo Grove, Evanston, Des Plaines, Skokie, Lake Forest, Wilmette, and the surrounding areas.
Sources:
- How Knee Arthritis Can Reduce Senior Independence - March 6, 2025
- Engaging Crafts That Help Seniors Improve Manual Dexterity - February 27, 2025
- How Skilled Nursing Can Help Seniors Manage Chronic Pain - February 20, 2025