All Episodes

August 22, 2025 20 mins

Got a comment or idea? Send us a text.

Arthritis affects one in four adults in the US and presents significant challenges for aging in place, but with the right tools and home modifications, maintaining independence is possible. This episode explores practical solutions for living comfortably with arthritis pain while preserving your ability to stay in your own home.

• Arthritis impacts grip strength, mobility, balance, and can lead to chronic pain and fatigue
• Replace round doorknobs with lever handles on doors, closets, cabinets, and faucets
• Install grab bars or handrails in strategic locations beyond just the bathroom
• Use smart home technology and voice-activated devices to reduce physical strain
• Consider arthritis-friendly tools like electric jar openers, easy-grip utensils, and reachers
• Adapt furniture with higher seating, chairs with arms, or invest in lift chairs
• Remove throw rugs or replace with thin vinyl rugs to prevent falls
• Small investments (lever handles, grab bars) can make a big difference immediately
• Larger investments (stair lifts, walk-in tubs) may be worth it depending on your needs
• Occupational therapists can recommend specific tools for your situation
• Listen to your body and use adaptive tools to prevent further injury

Please give us your comments and let us know if there are any topics you would like us to cover in future episodes.


Thanks for listening!

Sign up to our Homeowners Newsletter - it's a weekly newsletter filled with expert tips and advice on how to age safely and more comfortably in your own home.

If you provide services for modifying homes for disabled or seniors aging in place, sign up to our directory and expand your business.

Mark as Played
Transcript

Episode Transcript

Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:01):
Hello everyone and welcome to the Aging in Place
Directory podcast.
I know I've been away for awhile.
I've been working very hard onbuilding and getting the Aging
in Place Directory up andrunning and filled with
professionals and marketing itand all of that fun stuff.
But I'm back.

(00:22):
I'm committed to doing regularpodcasting again, and here we
are.
So today in this podcast Iwanted to talk about a topic
that is at least very common tomyself and to a lot of my
friends and neighbors andfamilies, and that is the topic
of arthritis.
You know, dealing with theeffects of arthritis while still

(00:45):
trying to live independently athome.
So what I want to talk about ismostly the kinds of adjustments
that you can make, the toolsthat you can use, anything that
you can do to help make iteasier to do all the things that
you love to do, still love todo, want to do.
But arthritic pain is botheringyou, whether it be your hands,

(01:06):
your knees, your hips, yourwhole body, your neck.
I get several friends haveproblems with arthritis in their
necks.
I mean, it's extremely common.
One in four adults in the UShas some form of arthritic pain
and the older you get, the moreprevalent it can be.
You know, my mom-in-law livedto 102 and she didn't really

(01:30):
start experiencing the pain,real pain, of arthritis, until
about 95 96.
Before that you would neverknow that she was in her 90s.
I mean, she walked every day,she took care of her own home,
lived completely independently,drove, she was completely fine.
But then she started gettingarthritis in her neck, a little

(01:54):
bit of arthritis in her knees,in her hips, in her hands, and,
you know, it became quitedebilitating after a while.
But the point is that there areways, there are tools that you
can use to help make life alittle easier.
Everything from home activitiesto driving, to dressing,

(02:14):
bathing, all of that.
So the point is, don't be shy,use the tools that are available
, use the exercises that yourtherapist provides and you will
be able to get through it.
I know I do with the arthritisin my hands all right.
So the challenges that come witharthritis if you're not yet

(02:34):
familiar with it, if you're acaregiver and you're just caring
for a senior parent or a seniorloved one and they're
complaining of arthritis, if youdon't have it, you can't quite
understand how painful it canreally be.
Um so, but in addition to justthe pain.
What arthritis affects is thestrength, your grip strength,

(02:56):
you know.
Inability to open jars orturning handles, or even turning
the wheel of the car, or evenas something as light as holding
a toothbrush can be verypainful because you have to
close your hand, you know, quitetight.
So the trick there is to put ina larger grip on the toothbrush

(03:17):
so that you don't have to closeit quite as tight.
Tight, of course the size ofthe grip will depend on your
ability to close and what'spainful and what's not.
The other thing that arthritisaffects quite often is mobility
and balance.
Arthritis in your hips, in yourknees, in your feet, can easily

(03:38):
affect how you walk, stand,climb stairs.
You know, I have Morton'sneuroma at the bottom of my left
foot and if I wear the wrongshoes at the end of the day I am
literally limping to the pointwhere I have to lay down for an
hour or so just to relieve thatpain so that I can walk again,

(03:58):
just to get to bed or whatever.
So it can be very debilitatingand I don't want neuromas, not
arthritis, but the point is the.
So it can be very debilitatingand I don't want neuromas, not
arthritis, but the point is thepain can be very debilitating,
to the point where you justdon't want to do anything.
You know, maybe you haveshoulder arthritis and you just
have a hard time getting dressedor showering and you tend to

(04:19):
avoid those tasks because it isso painful.
And the one thing chronic paincan easily make you tired, make
you depressed, make you anxious.
So please take those thingsinto consideration and

(04:40):
understand that it is just fromhaving to deal with this
constant chronic pain doesn'thave to be from arthritis, but
arthritic pain can certainly bevery chronic if it's not able to
be treated well or if it'ssevere enough, all right.
So what are some things that youcan do in your home to make
things a little easier for youif you're dealing with arthritis

(05:04):
?
So one is the very first thingto do and is to replace any
round knobs that you have, be iton cabinets or doors or
anything at all, any round knobs.
Replace it with a lever knob.
I did that for myself as well.
I replaced all the levers in myhome my doors, my closets, my

(05:28):
cabinets, everything has a lever, everything that comes out easy
enough so that, if need be, Ican just put my hand over the
lever and push up or down youknow, down, I guess to open the
door, but this way I don't haveto try to hold on and turn.
I even did that with thefaucets.
Everything is a lever and withthe faucets actually I went with

(05:51):
one handle because it's mucheasier to manage one handle than
to try to do both, especiallyif you have one side is weaker
than another, maybe due to somekind of neurological impairment
or stroke or anything like that.
The second thing you want to doyou can do is to install grab
bars or safety bars or handrails, whatever you want to call them

(06:16):
.
You know, install them one bothsides of your stairs.
I I did that as well a fewyears ago.
You know, any steps going inand out of your home, even if
it's just one or two steps, puton those.
Put those grab bars orhandrails, anything.
If you're going down a longhallway, my mom had a long

(06:38):
hallway into her bathroom.
I don't know why they designedit that way, but it was several
feet long before she actuallygot into the bathroom.
So we ended up putting a grabbar on that long hallway so that
she could use it just to getherself down into the bathroom
area.
So anywhere that you would need, if you're going around a

(06:59):
corner and you need a grab barthere, anywhere that you would
need a grab bar or that you feelyou need one.
There's so many beautiful onesnowadays.
I think it's worth having themthroughout the house.
I think it's worth having themthroughout the house.
Smart assistive devices A lot ofpeople don't think about

(07:22):
voice-activated devices likeAlexa or Google Home to help you
turn on lights, adjust thethermostat, make phone calls.
Smart plugs to automateappliances let you know your
dryer is done.
Anything that you can do tomake life a little easier for
yourself so that your smartphonecan notify you, or that you can
use your voice to activate ordeactivate an appliance or a

(07:44):
light.
That keeps you from not onlyhaving to get up and move if you
have mobility problems, butalso to use your hands if you
have problems with your hands orif you're having a flare-up.
I mean, we all know anyone whosuffers from arthritis knows
that there are times and dayswhen you simply just have a

(08:05):
flare-up.
You know, I fractured my wristseveral years ago and to this
day, there are days and timesthat I just have an absolute
flare up and it hurts more thanI can say, and I wear a brace
during that time to just try tokeep it.
You know, from hurting as muchthat you can do to not have to

(08:37):
use your hands or hips oranything during those flare-ups.
And voice activated devices areonly getting smarter and
smarter every month, it seemslike.
So some arthritis friendly toolsthat you can use, of course,
are electric jar openers, easygrip utensils, button hooks for
dressing or just simply avoidbuttons altogether.
There are, there's lots ofclothing now that uses velcro to

(09:00):
close, and there's buttons onthe outside that, of course, are
.
They're just for decoration.
But or there are some othersthat are magnetic, not even with
velcro.
They just use magnets to closea shirt or pants or anything
like that.
Velcro over your shoes,anything that avoids having to

(09:21):
manage small and to manipulatesmall items like like shoelaces
or buttons or zippers, anythinglike that can certainly help.
And speak with your occupationaltherapist, get a referral for
an occupational therapist.
They can show you so many toolsthat you can use for your
specific needs.
There's a ton of stuffavailable these days, much more

(09:44):
so than when I was an OT yearsago.
So check it out.
Check it out, use a reacher orgrabber tool.
I use a reacher almost all thetime just to reach the higher
cabinets, to pull down thingslike paper towels or anything
like that.
I even use a long.
It's called a critter grabberand it's what you use to pick up

(10:09):
a dead bug or anything.
That's why I don't have to getone, one, I don't have to get
down to the ground to pick it up, and two, I don't have to pick
it up with a hand or paper towel.
So the critter grabber isamazing.
Um, you, just, you, just, I get.
I get all these things onamazon.
But you can just pull thetrigger.
It opens up, it grabs the bugor whatever and throws it out.

(10:33):
You can throw it out.
It's the best tool for anybody.
And then you want to definitelyadjust your furniture, your
layout.
If you have furniture, if youhave seating that's too low, you
want to get a higher seating,be it a cushion, be it chairs

(10:57):
with arms, any with seat risers,or just go ahead and invest in
a lift chair.
You know, I have a friend whohas trouble getting up from a
chair due to need surgery andhe's had poor mobility anyway,
but you know, even before theknee surgery, but now he's
having to have surgery on theother knee and anyway he has a

(11:21):
very difficult time getting upand I can see him getting up.
He has to rock himself a littlebit to get up and it's going to
come to the point where at somepoint he's going to rock
himself right over to and he'sgoing to fall.
It's.
I've seen it a hundred thousandtimes.
But trying to convince him andhis wife that they need a lift
chair is it's difficult becauseno one wants to admit that they

(11:44):
need anything like that.
But I mean it's, it's a regularrecliner.
It just happens to have abutton that helps you to get up.
But a lot of people think, no,no, it keeps my ex, it keeps me
getting some exercise that Inormally would lose.
But the reality is you may havealready lost it because of
whatever illness is causing themobility issue.

(12:05):
So in the meantime you you'restraining your muscles from your
back, your shoulders, your hips, your knee, your good knee or
both knees, so you're strainingthem.
So it's only going to causemore injury or re-injure the
original injury.
So there's certainly no pointin doing that.

(12:26):
It just perpetuates the problemand makes it worse.
So feel free to use the tool.
This is what helps to keep youindependent.
Are all these amazing tools?
They're out there.
I mean, when we're younger, weuse tools to do things right.
We use a hammer, we use amanual can opener.

(12:46):
You know, we use baskets in theback of our cars to put in
groceries.
I mean we use tools.
As younger people, we use GPSunits.
Now we use the smartphone.
These are all tools to helpmake life easier and safer and
more independent for all of us.
So why not just continue usingthe tools?

(13:06):
I mean they're different tools,but they're still tools and
gadgets to help you stay safeand independent.
So you want to look at thingslike bed rails, leg lifters.
You want to keep pathways inyour home clear?
Definitely remove those throwrugs.

(13:27):
If you absolutely have to havea rug for decor, consider vinyl
rugs.
They're extremely thin, they'renon-slip and they give you that
sense of decoration.
Plus, on top of that, they'resuper easy to clean.
A Roomba goes right over them.
A mop goes right over them.
You don't have to worry aboutyour dog or cat peeing or

(13:48):
pooping or anything in the housevomiting, because it cleans up
like just like a floor vinylrugs.
I recommend them to everyoneand, plus, that makes cleaning
much easier as well.
But use these tools to help youmaintain your, your health.
You know you don't want to,like I said, over strain your

(14:09):
muscles.
You know you don't want to,like I said, overstrain your
muscles to the point where youend up injuring yourself again.
It's just like somebody who Iremember years ago I would live
I used to live in a communitythat they they had a tennis club
thing there or the.
You know they would play Idon't play tennis, but they
would do the tournaments orwhatever they call them to play.

(14:30):
I don't play tennis, but theywould do the tournaments or
whatever they call them to play.
I would go to parties in theneighborhood in the evening and
I would see people hobblingabout, I mean all bent over or
in pain, or they're sitting onthe sofa with an ice pack on
their hip or their knee or theirankle or elbow arm, and I mean
I'd be several of them at theparty and it's like what in the

(14:52):
world happened to you?
And it's like, oh, I had toplay tennis today.
You know, I was in the leagueand I had to play and I'm like I
think your body is telling you,no, you shouldn't be playing.
So it's so interesting to seehow people will continue pushing
, pushing, pushing themselves tothe point of injury where at
some point, the body ends upjust really not able to tolerate

(15:17):
anymore and then you end upwith a chronic pain type of
injury.
So I never quite understoodthat.
But if you're listening to thisor if you're watching this
video, please take heed andlisten to what your body is
telling you.
Talk to your doctor,chiropractor, therapist,
whatever you know about thesekinds of injuries, and see what

(15:38):
they recommend.
But I personally thinkeverybody can just listen to
their body and try to understandwhat's going on and avoid any
future damage.
All right, so what are someinvestments that you can make?
Some products.
There's some small investmentsand big investments.
Obviously, the lever handlesare small investments.

(15:59):
You don't have to do it onevery single doorway or faucet
or whatever all at once.
You can do it in bits andpieces.
Grab bars can certainly beinexpensive.
Depends on how many you needand you know what infrastructure
needs to be put in, becausegrab bars do need to be put on a
block.
They can't just be installed onthe drywall, so there has to be

(16:22):
a very good support systembehind there.
So, yeah, there may be someissues where you have to have
that kind of construction onthere Reacher tools and non-slip
mats and easy grip kitchentools and anything that you can
do to enhance the width of atoothbrush or a tool that you
use, or a paintbrush anything atall.

(16:43):
Those are usually veryinexpensive.
You can find them mostly onAmazon and our websites that
provide equipment for arthritichands or arthritis.
The bigger investments that maybe worth it, depending on you
know, on your budget and yourlevel of need is a stair lift,

(17:06):
residential elevator, a smartsystem, flooring upgrades if
needed, a walk-in tub or roll-inshowers or zero threshold
showers.
All of those may require, youknow, will require some
construction, but it may beworth it to you.

(17:26):
It depends on how long you planto stay in the home, it depends
on your level of ability orinability, and the point is that
all of these things can help tokeep you more independent and
to be safer at home, and, at theend of the day, that's what I
think every person living athome, aging at home, wants, and

(17:51):
even their families.
Everybody wants to be able todo what they want to do in their
own home for as long aspossible, until they pass away,
hopefully.
But until that happens, youwant to make sure to make the
last several years of your life,or however long you have you

(18:11):
know could be 20 years you wantto make it safe and and secure
and independent so that you canenjoy it.
That's the whole point of beinghome and making home your safe
haven.
You want to enjoy it.
So these tools can help to makeyour arthritic pain less

(18:32):
painful maybe hopefully it won'texaggerate it.
Again, speak with your therapist.
You know if you're seeing a PTor an OT or hand therapist or
whomever you're seeingrheumatologist on what your pain
issues are, what they recommend, who they recommend for you to
see, because there are someamazing tools out there that can

(18:53):
really help you to live withthat pain, and we all know
anyone who has arthritis knowthat it can be extremely painful
.
All right, take care ofyourselves.
I hope this information wasuseful for you.
Please give us your comments.
You know, like the video,unlike the video, let us know

(19:13):
what you think.
Let us know if there are anytopics you would like us to
cover in, you know, in futureepisodes, and we will respond to
everything you say.
Okay, great, thank you, have awonderful day and I'll see you
next time.
Advertise With Us

Popular Podcasts

Law & Order: Criminal Justice System - Season 1 & Season 2

Law & Order: Criminal Justice System - Season 1 & Season 2

Season Two Out Now! Law & Order: Criminal Justice System tells the real stories behind the landmark cases that have shaped how the most dangerous and influential criminals in America are prosecuted. In its second season, the series tackles the threat of terrorism in the United States. From the rise of extremist political groups in the 60s to domestic lone wolves in the modern day, we explore how organizations like the FBI and Joint Terrorism Take Force have evolved to fight back against a multitude of terrorist threats.

Dateline NBC

Dateline NBC

Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com

NFL Daily with Gregg Rosenthal

NFL Daily with Gregg Rosenthal

Gregg Rosenthal and a rotating crew of elite NFL Media co-hosts, including Patrick Claybon, Colleen Wolfe, Steve Wyche, Nick Shook and Jourdan Rodrigue of The Athletic get you caught up daily on all the NFL news and analysis you need to be smarter and funnier than your friends.

Music, radio and podcasts, all free. Listen online or download the iHeart App.

Connect

© 2025 iHeartMedia, Inc.