In This Issue:

1. Tips to Make Dressing While Physically Challenged Easier
2. Putting On a Shirt or Blouse
3. How to Remove a Shirt Or Blouse
4. Putting On an Over-the-Head Knit Top, Tee Shirt, or Night Gown
5. How to Remove an Over-the-Head Garment, Shirt, or Blouse
6. Dressing Help When Limited by Physical Challenges
7. Health Factors that Affect Dressing Ability

The other day, while shopping in an outlet store, I overheard an older woman ask her aging son to help her find blouses she could wear when her arm was placed in a sling. She was searching for blouses with snaps on the sleeves. Her idea was similar to what she knew as a hospital night gown. She thought such a blouse would make it possible for her to dress independently. The woman told her son she had already been to 10 stores looking for such a thing and was already exhausted!

On that day, she called me her angel. I simply gave her a few tips and showed her how to put on and remove a button front blouse (that she had in her hand) and a loosely fitting knit top that she would normally wear.

It is a fact that the simple things we do in life are often the most complicated. We take them for granted. For instance, bathing, eating, self feeding, walking, grooming and dressing are essential and basic daily life activities that we all must perform every day to live. They are easy to do when everything works. However, when one little bitty thing changes, we realize just how much we count on our magnificent, beautiful, amazing bodies.

This month, the SAFE Aging newsletter theme of the month is Help with Dressing. Read tips, suggestions and ideas about dressing with a challenge.

1. Tips to Make Dressing While Physically Challenged Easier

This dressing method can be used when there is pain, limited joint range of motion, loss of muscle strength, tremors or shakiness, loss of sensation (numbness, awareness of position of the arm) such as with any of these conditions:

• Stroke: Loss of movement or feeling in arms
• Arthritis: Painful joints limiting range of motion in shoulders, or elbows
• Amputation: Loss of hand, to elbow
• Surgeries: Joint replacements, Tissue or bone repairs, other reasons
• Parkinson's disease: Tremors or shakiness that makes dressing difficult
• Multiple Sclerosis: Balance loss
• Cancer: Pain, loss of motion
• Nerve Damage: Limited joint range of motion
• Obesity: Limited range of motion

1. Gather all clothes that will be worn for the day, and place in a convenient spot where dressing will take place.
    

2. Try sitting to make dressing safer (at least until you feel comfortable with your new dressing style).
    

3. If you can, PRACTICE these techniques before having surgery. (The lady in this story knew she would be wearing a sling after surgery of her shoulder.)
    

4. Try to use looser fitting blouses or tops during this time, because is does make life easier.
    

5. Do not hurry. Plan ahead because dressing and undressing might take a few minutes longer than usual.

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2.  Putting On a Shirt or Blouse (with an affected arm*** and a sling)

(*** An affected arm means the arm that is hurt, impaired or injured.

We often hear Doctors, other health professionals and family members call an affected or impaired arm the BAD ARM. The arm is not really bad! It is just different. Give the affected arm some love and respect.)

1. Keep affected arm (arm that is in the sling) tucked in to the body, in the same position as you would wear it when the sling is on.
    

2. DO NOT move your arm out of that position!!!!!
    

3. START with your AFFECTED arm.
    

4. Put the sleeve of your loosest blouse over the AFFECTED hand (DO NOT MOVE HAND and ARM OUT OF SLING POSITION). Then, pull the sleeve fabric as far up above the elbow as possible (should be close to the arm pit).
    

5. Bend forward. (Keep affected arm in correct position against body.)
    

6. Once sleeve is over the affected hand, pull the fabric over the shoulder and let it drop down.  The unaffected arm can find the sleeve to finish the task.
    

7. Button shirt or blouse.
    

8. Put on sling. Keep arm in position at all times.

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3. How to Remove a Shirt Or Blouse

1. Keep affected arm (arm that is in the sling) tucked in to the body, in the same position as you would wear it when the sling is on.
    

2. DO NOT move your arm out of that position!!!!!

3. Remove the SLING.
    

4. START by removing the UNAFFECTED ARM from the sleeve.
    

5. Let the shirt drop.
    

6. Use gravity to help.
    

7. If possible, reach behind to push the shirt or blouse toward the affected side as far as possible. (This is done so the fabric can be easily pulled from the affected arm without any resistance.)
    

8. Then, grab the sleeve at the front shoulder of the AFFECTED ARM, pulling the sleeve gently down over the elbow, without straightening the elbow.
    

9. Remove the shirt/ blouse.
    

10. GOOD JOB!!!!!

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4. Putting On an Over-the-Head Knit Top, Tee Shirt, or Night Gown

POSITION: Sitting in chair

1. Gather the AFFECTED SLEEVE from the inside.
    

2. With UNaffected hand, place sleeve for the AFFECTED arm, on the AFFECTED hand. Then pull that sleeve up to the arm pit (or as high as possible without tearing or ripping or discomfort).
    

3. With UN affected hand, you may need to shake the garment a bit to find the hole of the other sleeve.
    

4. Once the other sleeve is found, put the Unaffected arm into the sleeve, and scoot the garment up to the arm pit (or as far as it can comfortably go.
    

5. The garment should be on both arms, near or on the armpit.
    

6. With Unaffected hand, grab the open neck with thumb and fingers.
    

7. If possible, bend the neck, then put head through the neck pf the garment.
    

8. Voila'!  At this point you should have the over the head garment on without moving the AFFECTED Arm.
    

9. Pull the garment down from the front and the back and you should be done.
    

10. Put on sling.

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5. How to Remove an Over-the-Head Garment, Shirt, or Blouse

1. Keep affected arm (arm that is in the sling) tucked in to the body, in the same position as you would wear it when the sling is on.
    

2. DO NOT move your arm out of that position!!!!!
    

3. Remove the SLING, without moving the position of the AFFECTED ARM.
    

4. With Unaffected hand, gather the garment from the bottom front to above the chest as far as possible to bring the bulk of the shirt higher.
    

5. From the back, push the garment up toward the back of the head and neck, as far as possible.
    

6. Bend forward a bit without losing balance.
    

7. With UNaffected hand, continue to gather the garment from the back, pulling up as high above the head as possible until the garment comes off.
    

8. GOOD JOB!!!!!

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6. Dressing Help When Limited by Physical Challenges

We live in a wonderful technological age today. There are so many types of assistive devices that can help people to live independently despite physical challenges that make dressing, bathing, grooming or toileting, self feeding  difficult or impossible. 

If you happen to have a difficult time reaching the floor to get your shoes, pick up pants or panties or socks, there are assistive devices available for you. If you can't reach things on a shelf you need for independent dressing, there are devices that can help you. There are devices to help complete grooming and bathing activities. In fact, there are now so many remarkable devices that can pretty much help most people in daily life activities.

While doing some Internet surfing, I came upon an excellent article that did a fine job explaining basic assistive devices. The following article found on StrokEngine was written and developed by a team of rehabilitation specialists specifically for people who have had strokes.

Read Which Assistive Device Can Help with Dressing?

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7. Health Factors that Affect Dressing Ability

Any health condition that affects the following will have an affect on the ability to dress.

• Balance

• Coordination

• Muscle strength

• Joint Range of Motion

• Sensory awareness such as vision and touch

• Awareness of position

When any condition or combination of conditions happen, it is important to plan ahead, to conserve energy and assure safety. Be sure to ask for assistance when needed.  There are many ways to solve new challenges. For professional help, ask your doctor for a referral to see an occupational therapist.

Occupational Therapy and Living Life to the Fullest

There are many different ways to protect arthritic joints when dressing and doing other activities. In fact, there are way too many to list here. If you are having a tough time figuring out how to dress comfortably or safely, due to any type of medical condition or environmental condition that makes doing daily life activities difficult, ask your doctor for a referral to see an occupational therapist.

An occupational therapist is a trained health professional that will provide expert advice and counsel to help you live life to the fullest, adapt to the situation you are in, modify your environment to make life easier, or fix, eliminate or reduce the challenges in daily life.

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