Adaptive dressing equipment to help make dressing easier

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After hospitalization, dressing can become a very difficult task—much more difficult than most people expect.

Many individuals will say, “Oh, I know how to get dressed. I’ve done it my whole life,” but the key difference is that they have not completed this task after a major medical event such as a stroke, open-heart surgery, or spinal surgery.

Limitations like reduced balance, dizziness, pain, weakness, or restricted movement can significantly impact the ability to dress safely and independently.

Some adaptive equipment can be helpful for anyone—you do not need a diagnosis to use it.

If you are having trouble bending over or feel dizzy when reaching down, a reacher can help. If getting to your feet or managing socks and shoes has become difficult, a sock aid or long-handled shoe horn can make the task safer and easier.

Adaptive equipment does not make you disabled.

It helps create independence and promotes quality of life.

Adaptive equipment that can ease the dressing task includes:

Dressing stick

Long-handled shoe horn

Reacher

Button hooks

Sock aid

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-dressing stick

This tool can be used for a variety of purposes: the bottom metal hook can help pull a zipper, grab pants in the belt loop.

The top piece can help take a jacket off one shoulder, help get your shirt over your head (especially if you had spinal surgery and are not supposed to lift your arms overhead), push socks off.

Check it out: https://amzn.to/4b8NsSg

Long handled shoe horn

Soooo this is a neat device because not only is it a long handled shoe horn but it also has the top component of a dressing stick. Two in one is awesome and also comes apart for easy travel.

Check it out: https://amzn.to/4pTXdaBhttps://amzn.to/4pTXdaB

Reacher

A reacher like this is what we practice with in the skilled nursing facility. This type works well with assisting to put pants on, picking anything up off the floor.

This type of reacher will be difficult for someone that does not have good hand eye coordination and can cause skin tears on frail skin.

Check it out: https://amzn.to/4jXT3NG

-button hooks

Honestly this is one of those things.. some people can master while others just need the extra help to do the buttons. Using this will require good hand eye coordination, does have the bottom hook to also be like the end of the dressing stick. Great tool for an individual after a stroke only having one functional side.

Not for individuals with cognitive deficits

Click here to check it out: https://amzn.to/4pQWneN

Sock Aid

Using this will take practice. Lots of practice. Place the sock on the bottom of the sock aid. Your stopping point for the top of sock is the rope, do not go over the rope. The top of your foot is the open of the sock aid, the bottom of your foot slides along the bottom of the sock aid. The rope is used to pull so you need to be able to hold the rope.
This picture is a great demonstration however you want the end of the sock flat against the sock aid, no sock hanging off! Makes it easier!

Check it out: https://amzn.to/3ZkodoG

Thank you for reading my blog on adaptive equipment for dressing. Hope it helps someone to maintain their independence or eases caregiver burden.

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