Lovely senior life

[For Seniors] DIY Rehabilitation Aids: A Collection of Easy-to-Make Ideas

Social worker / Care workermoko
My name is Moko, a mother of three who admired my mother and worked in the care industry as a care worker and as a medical social worker (MSW) in a hospital. I will be drawing on my previous experience to write mainly about caregiving. Thank you in advance.
Care Worker Initial Training Certification ObtainedNakajima Junko
Leveraging my experience working as a care worker at a day service, I am currently active as a writer in the caregiving and welfare fields. Beyond writing, I hope to expand my work into web design and illustration. I am a mother of three who has begun studying to become a certified social worker.

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.

[For Seniors] DIY Rehabilitation Aids: A Collection of Easy-to-Make Ideas (31–40)

Body stretching with a handmade newspaper stick

[100-Yen Training] Loosen Up Your Body with Newspaper Stick Exercises! [Exercises for Seniors]

Body stretching with a handmade newspaper stick

This routine involves thoroughly loosening the body using a firmly rolled-up newspaper stick.

A key point is that the stick has markings; use these as a guide to focus on where to hold it and how to move it.

If you grip the end markings with both hands, you can keep your hand width consistent, allowing even simple stretching exercises to apply solid force throughout the body.

If your body is stiff, you may unintentionally tense up, so it’s recommended to roll the newspaper tightly to help support the movement.

Raise the rankinglower

Report a problem

Chopstick training goods

[100-yen Brain Training] ADL training for eating: “Using chopsticks” movements

Chopstick training goods

Chopsticks are perfect for hand and finger rehabilitation because they involve a sequence of actions like grasping and releasing objects.

Prepare a container with dividers, such as an ice cube tray.

You can also make dividers in an empty tissue box using thick paper or cardboard.

Next, get felt balls or small crumpled pieces of paper that fit into each compartment.

That’s all the prep! The person training should use chopsticks to pick up the felt balls or crumpled paper and place them into the container.

By setting a detailed rule—like putting one item in each compartment—you can ensure their hands move thoroughly and effectively.

Raise the rankinglower

Report a problem

A tool for training hand and finger skills with lacing (threading) activities

[Done in 10 Minutes!] I Tried Making a Rehabilitation Tool Using 100-Yen Shop Materials | Vol. 41

A tool for training hand and finger skills with lacing (threading) activities

Let me introduce a lacing tool that can train both the fingers and the wrist! Prepare several long, narrow wooden boards with holes drilled large enough for a lace to pass through.

Stand them upright and attach them to a single base board—done! The trainee will pass a lace through the holes one by one, similar to threading a needle.

Start by using both hands, then try using only the dominant hand, moving the fingers skillfully while threading the lace.

Everyone has directions that feel easier to thread, but attempting it from the more difficult directions will further promote finger exercise.

Raise the rankinglower

Report a problem

Handmade Othello

[Easy Craft] I made an Othello game with plastic bottle caps and tried playing it #shorts #PlayAtHome

Handmade Othello

Othello, which everyone knows.

This time, we’ll show you how to make a handmade version using plastic bottle caps.

Prepare lots of plastic bottle caps in two colors and a piece of cardboard.

Tape two caps of different colors back-to-back to make the discs.

Draw a grid on the cardboard.

After that, you can enjoy playing just like a regular Othello set.

The handmade pieces are easier to pick up, so even those who aren’t comfortable with fine finger movements can enjoy the game.

Give it a try—make it and play!

Raise the rankinglower

Report a problem

Simple fingertip rehab using duct tape

Finger rehabilitation games, recreational activities, seniors

Simple fingertip rehab using duct tape

This activity involves peeling off layers of duct tape wrapped around a ping-pong ball, in sequence, while observing how the tape is intertwined.

The movements used to remove the intricately tangled tape help train the fingers to feel for seams and twists, as well as develop the strength needed to break the adhesive.

Depending on the tape’s strength, more force may be required, so adjusting this aspect to match participants’ abilities is recommended.

You can also standardize conditions such as the number of ping-pong balls and the length of tape, and have participants compete on how quickly they can finish peeling.

This can encourage smoother finger movements and focused thinking.

Raise the rankinglower

Report a problem

[For Seniors] DIY Rehabilitation Tools: A Collection of Easy-to-Make Ideas (41–50)

Let’s pay the money.

@user8492253312849
Independent Project Work Log 70. Let's Pay MoneyTranslation Handmade teaching materials Special Needs Education #Autism Neurodevelopmental disorder #After-school Day Services Tokachi # developmental support (ryōiku)
♬ A heartwarming cute song for everyday scenes(840142) – Sumochi

When you go shopping, you pay money and think about the prices of items, right? Let’s turn those actions—using your hands to take out and put away money, and calculating item prices—into a training activity.

Place the appropriate amount of money on cards that show products and their prices.

Checkout-style practice is effective for finger dexterity and brain training.

It’s also useful for older adults who want to try going shopping in real life.

Many seniors say they want to go shopping, but if someone hasn’t shopped for several years, it can be hard to do it smoothly right away.

Why not gradually get used to shopping and paying by practicing handling money?

Raise the rankinglower

Report a problem

Pegboard made from an empty egg carton

@funotactivities
DIY Fine motor pegboard using egg carton with crayons! #occupationaltherapy #schoolot #activitiesforkids #crayola #rainbow #ot #kidscraft #fun #diy
♬ Dynamite – BTS

A pegboard is a wooden board with holes into which you insert pegs—wooden pins that vary in color, shape, and size.

Because it involves grasping the pegs and inserting or removing them from holes, it’s used for upper-limb training.

Commercial versions can range from around a thousand yen to several tens of thousands of yen.

Here’s a more affordable, homemade alternative: a pegboard made from an empty egg carton.

Paint the rounded egg-holder sections of a paper egg carton and make holes in them.

Use crayons as the pegs.

Insert each crayon into the hole with the matching color on the egg carton.

You’ll have an inexpensive and easy-to-make rehabilitation tool ready to use.

Raise the rankinglower

Report a problem