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 Tools: A Collection of Easy-to-Make Ideas (41–50)

Brain-training goods from the 100-yen shop!

[Seated Recreation] “Pinching, finger exercises, and brain training”—all with 100-yen store items

Brain-training goods from the 100-yen shop!

This is a rehabilitation tool that uses a whiteboard and colored magnets, which you can easily get even at 100-yen shops.

Draw lines on the whiteboard and then place magnets at the intersections—simple, right? By removing magnets that are stuck on and arranging them neatly while paying attention to color, you train the ability to judge colors and order as well as fine finger movements.

Try customizing it depending on what you want to strengthen: for example, increase the number of magnets to make the arranging take more time, or use stronger magnets to require more force to remove them.

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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.

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Recommended for recreation! Tong catch

Transfer it with tongs.

Recommended for recreation! Tong catch

It’s a game where you skillfully use tongs to move ping-pong balls from a box in front of you to a basket at hand.

If you play it as a head-to-head match facing your opponent, it encourages not only precise tong control but also speed.

It might also be good to vary the shape and size of the tongs, creating a pattern where players think about how much force to apply as they move.

Because the task of moving the balls is so simple, it’s easy to tweak the tools you use.

Try coming up with variations that focus on the body parts you want to train and the way you apply force.

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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.

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In conclusion

These were all ideas that seem enjoyable for older adults to try! Homemade rehabilitation tools are also recommended if you’re concerned about the cost of store-bought items.

By making good use of 100-yen shops and recycled materials, you can create them without spending much on supplies.

Please use this article as a reference to support rehabilitation and recreational activities.