While medications are helpful; they may not be right for everyone’s healthcare success.The use of pharmaceuticals might not always be the best solution in helping care for our seniors. A holistic, therapeutic approach can be a great alternative or provide the best mix of strategies to care for seniors. Here are some examples:
Non-Medication Therapies
Non-medication therapies are therapies that are meant to relieve pain without medicine. These types of therapies can not only decrease pain, but also help you control pain. Here are the types of non-medication therapies Spring Hills provide:
Music Therapy
Music can spark a number of emotions, as well as provide cognitive, social benefits and physicality to people of all ages. For seniors, music can reawaken the mind and uplift the heart. Music therapy at any age can even help motivate patients recover faster. Let’s take a closer look at how music therapy can help you heal.
The relationship between music and the brain is particularly unique. The benefits of listening to music are well documented in studies, showing clear advantages to an individual’s mental and emotional health. From infant development to senior care, music can evoke emotional responses to stimulate the mind and heal the body. Music Therapy can have positive effects on people with various health issues including:
- Depression
- Stress
- Sleep
- Dementia
Art Therapy
Depression is very common in older adults. One way to help ease their feelings of anxiety and depression is by incorporating an art therapy program to help intrigue the mind, engage the body and inspire the spirit. Here are a few ways that art therapy can help improve the mental health of seniors who may be experiencing depression.
Artistic expression leads to the acknowledgement of feelings and ideas that seniors may have not even known they had. According to Resources to Recover, “Creating art can help you acknowledge and recognize feelings that have been lurking in your subconscious.” Art therapy can have a huge benefit on the mental health of seniors because it helps provide them with a method to express these subconscious feelings in a productive way.
Horticultural Therapy
One of the most common therapy programs offered in senior care is horticulture therapy because of the plethora of benefits it provides to older adults. Horticulture therapy has helped enhance the health of an individual’s mind, body, and spirit for many years. According to the American Horticultural Therapy Association, “The therapeutic benefits of garden environments have been documented since ancient times.”
When you decide to reside in an assisted living facility, to leave your lifelong home, you may find yourself longing for the touch of the earth you once experienced in your own garden. Your peace of mind can be sown with the therapeutic design of our healing gardens, where you can enjoy nourishing plants that nourish the soul all year long. Summer’s fresh air and sun bring happiness and health, helping to alleviate feelings of loneliness and depression. Gardening doesn’t stop with the Fall harvest though. Our program allows residents to create indoor herb and flower gardens so they can enjoy elevated moods even as the temperatures drop outside.
Pet Therapy
It is well known that interaction with our furry friends has significant health benefits. Dogs and cats are most commonly used for pet therapy but, birds and robotic simulating animals are also for this type of therapy. Pet therapy is the interaction between a person and a trained animal. Bonding with a friendly pet can help with a variety of physical and mental issues. Studies indicate that those who spend regular time with pets often have lower blood pressure and triglyceride counts. Some of the benefits of pet therapy:
- Decreases loneliness
- Improved social skills
- Provides a sense of purpose
- Emotional and mental health benefits
- Provides an exercise partner
Physical Therapy
Maintaining physical activity is good for anyone’s health, but becomes even more vital as we get older. The decrease in strength and stamina normally associated with aging is actually partly tied to a reduction in physical activity. This is why we at the Spring Hills develop customized exercise programs for our seniors and offer fitness and wellness classes that are designed to keep them motivated and active. It’s part of our deep commitment to enhance the physical, mental, and emotional health of your loved one.
Benefits include:
- Help in maintaining an elderly person’s ability to live independently by improving balance, endurance, and mobility
- Lower risk of developing high blood pressure (for those already suffering from hypertension, reduction of blood pressure), heart disease, and preventing strokes and blood clots
- Help in preventing some cancers and diabetes
At Spring Hills it is important that we find solutions that are holistic, not only medical.
“I believe the approach of Non Pharmacological treatment includes empowering the individual with specific techniques to achieve greater awareness and control over their body. A good example would be using physical therapy, heat or ice treatment to modify or control pain.
Oftentimes medicinal treatment comes with a whole host of other side effects, which can create new symptoms for the individual. It’s always a personal choice, I feel strongly about taking the route of least invasive treatment.”
– Lesa Scott RN,CALA,TALA,CADDCT, VP Clinical Services & Compliance Spring Hills Communities
Therapies of all kinds are a great way to relieve pain, stress, anxiety, and allow our seniors to enjoy their time while healing themselves. Pet therapy, art therapy, holistic therapy, and more are enjoyable for your seniors and allow them to have fun and be social with other people. We want our residents to not only be happy, but Live Happy.