Not everyone with arthritis has problems getting dressed, although some changes may have to be made in the way you dress even if your arthritis is not that severe, so here are a few tips to follow that can make those changes smooth and easy.
Firstly, attempt to analyse which joints are causing you the most difficulty when dressing, especially in the morning, arthritis stiffness can take over an hour to go away after you get out of bed and you don't want to wait that long to get dressed.
Adapting how you get dressed to work around those joints will ensure you don't get thrown off schedule, if you have problems putting on your socks and shoes in the morning, try sitting on the bed to do it.
A further problem (for women) is that your shoulders may be too stiff for you to reach around behind your back and hook your bra, in this case, you can place the bra behind your back and hook it in front, then slide it around and you can place your arms in the straps
These simple adaptations are just two examples you can do at home with the clothes you have
If in the morning your stiffness is a little more severe, you may have to purchase different types of clothing, front closing shirts or blouses would be more suitable if due to shoulder stiffness you find it difficult to lift your arms, your fingers may give you problems in the morning, so avoid clothing with small buttons or hooks
If bending gives you a hard time then try to wear slip on shoes with Velcro straps and avoid wearing heels
Adaptive devices can also make dressing easier without having to buy special clothing. These have been around for many years, it used to be that you could only buy this equipment with the assistance of an occupational therapist but that was before the Internet, but now anybody can buy these devices directly
Dozens of devices are easily available that can help just about any problem,
adaptive devices and clothing for arthritis is available at able2wear.co.uk
