[For Seniors] DIY Rehabilitation Aids: A Collection of Easy-to-Make Ideas
The main goal of rehabilitation for older adults is to restore motor functions that have declined due to illness or injury, so they can live independently in their daily lives.
Some people train using store-bought items that have rehabilitative effects.
However, commercial products can be expensive and not easy to purchase.
That’s why this time we’re introducing ideas for handmade rehabilitation tools that you can make with relatively easy-to-find materials, such as those from 100-yen shops.
We’ve collected ideas that are effective for brain training and allow for easy rehabilitation.
It can also be great to start from the process of making them together with older adults.
Please use these ideas as a reference and give them a try.
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[For Seniors] DIY Rehabilitation Aids: A Collection of Easy-to-Make Ideas (1–10)
Pinning
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♬ A walk with the puppies Relaxing pops – spiraea
Let me introduce a fingertip training tool that uses small pins.
You insert plastic pins into holes in a styrofoam base.
It can help train pinching movements using your fingertips.
Also, by using your fingers a lot, it may help stimulate brain activity.
The process of making this tool isn’t complicated, so it’s easy to create.
If you use items from 100-yen shops or hardware stores, preparation should be simple, too.
Here’s an extra idea: prepare a die.
Color the numbered faces of the die and the tips of the pins.
You can then enjoy it as a game by rolling the die and inserting a pin that matches the color that comes up.
rehabilitation chopsticks
Let me introduce rehab chopsticks that are perfect for practicing the act of using chopsticks itself! Prepare one pair of disposable chopsticks, two rubber bands, and a clothespin.
Split the disposable chopsticks and attach the clothespin to the end you hold.
Position the opening side of the clothespin at the end of the chopsticks, clamp it with the chopsticks, and secure each side with a rubber band.
And that’s it—your rehab chopsticks are complete! When you grip the chopsticks with your fingers, the clothespin mechanism moves, making the chopsticks open and close so you can pick up food.
If you find chopsticks hard to use because you can’t move your fingers well, try rehabilitating with these chopsticks!
color clip fastener
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♬ A walk with the puppies Relaxing pops – spiraea
“Color Clip Match” is an activity where you prepare colorful sheets of paper and clip on paper clips of the same color, making use of the paper’s original colors.
There’s no need to color the paper, so preparation is simple.
Pinching the clips with your fingertips and attaching them to the matching color spot is perfect for training fine motor movements and grip strength.
Distinguishing colors and placing the clip in the correct spot also stimulates the brain.
The materials are easy to find at 100-yen shops and similar stores, making it simple to get started.
It’s a fun, game-like rehab method that’s highly recommended for older adults.
[For Seniors] DIY Rehabilitation Aids: A Collection of Easy-to-Make Ideas (11–20)
hair tie holder
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superstar – Sharou
“Hair Elastic Hook” is a rehabilitation tool for older adults made with a wooden board, colored pushpins, and hair elastics.
Push pairs of red, blue, yellow, and other colored tacks into the board, then loop matching-colored hair elastics over the corresponding tacks.
Pinching and stretching the elastics with the fingertips requires fine motor control and engages the hands’ functional movement.
Matching the colors correctly also stimulates the brain, supporting cognitive training.
Its colorful and playful look helps maintain focus.
All materials are easy to source and it can be made like a simple craft, so it’s easy to introduce.
It’s a convenient and practical rehab activity that we recommend.
Finger exercises with cotton swabs
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♬ Dino Song – Mr. Popolo
The “cotton swab finger exercise,” which can be made with everyday materials, is a perfect DIY rehabilitation idea for seniors.
Paint cotton swabs in colors like red and blue, put matching colored stickers on toilet paper rolls, and make small holes there.
The way to play is very simple: find the matching color and insert the cotton swab into the corresponding hole.
Distinguishing colors and making fine finger movements provides hand dexterity training and stimulates the brain.
Because it feels like a game, it’s easy to keep doing regularly, which is a nice bonus.
All the materials are household items, so you can make it right away whenever you feel like it.
Finger training with clothespins
This activity uses clothespins to build fingertip strength and pinching motions.
You stick a large illustration onto cardboard and then attach clothespins to the illustration as if they were hair.
It’s fun because children can move their fingers while thinking about what kind of hairstyle to create.
When connecting clothespins to each other rather than just attaching them to the illustration, they need to carefully consider where to clip them, which also engages the brain.
While clothespins are commonly operated with the thumb and index finger, intentionally trying different fingers can help train finger strength more evenly.
Finger training using magnets
A pegboard is designed to improve fine motor skills by having you pinch several cylindrical blocks—such as red, green, and yellow ones—and move them into a box.
It’s often used for training the upper limbs and fingers after a stroke.
While the price can be fairly high, it turns out you can substitute it using only items from a 100-yen shop.
Prepare a whiteboard, four colors of magnets, a permanent marker, and a ruler.
On the whiteboard, use the permanent marker to plan and adjust a magnet layout in a 2-centimeter grid both vertically and horizontally; this process helps activate the brain.
Pinching the magnets is also said to be effective as finger exercise.
It’s nice that you can do the training while seated, too.