Stronger Legs. More Choices. Lower Care Costs.
When leg strength declines, your loved one may need more help with everyday activities, and more help can mean higher care costs. Building and maintaining strength can help them do more for themselves, need less hands-on assistance, and keep more choices open about how and where they live.
Why Does Leg Strength Affect Care Costs?
Care costs increase when your loved one needs more help with everyday activities.
As leg strength declines, things that once seemed simple can become harder: standing up from a chair, walking around the house, getting in and out of bed, getting to the bathroom, getting dressed, or getting in and out of the shower.
When your loved one can no longer do these things independently, someone else has to step in. That may mean family members providing more help, hiring additional hours of homecare, needing more assistance in assisted living, or eventually needing a higher level of care.
This Is Where Leg Strength Can Make a Difference
The stronger your loved one is, the more they may be able to do for themselves.
Being able to manage more of their daily routine independently can mean less hands-on assistance and potentially fewer hours of paid care.
And when less care is needed, care costs may be lower.
Building and maintaining leg strength isn't a guarantee that your loved one will avoid needing care. The goal is to help them stay strong enough to do as much as they safely can for themselves, and potentially reduce how much help they need.
More strength can mean more independence, less hands-on help, and more choices about how and where they live.
Can Stronger Legs Help Lower the Cost of Staying at Home?
For many older adults, staying at home means continuing to pay for their home, utilities, food, and other everyday expenses. What can change significantly is the amount of help they need to stay there safely.
As leg strength declines, everyday things like standing up from a chair, getting in and out of bed, walking to the bathroom, preparing a simple meal, or moving around the house can become harder. Your loved one may then need family members to step in or hire someone to help.
And that care can add up. At approximately $45 an hour, 6 hours of homecare a week is about $1,170 a month. At 56 hours a week, it's about $10,920 a month. Actual rates vary, but the example shows how the amount of care needed can significantly affect the cost of staying at home.
This is where leg strength can make a difference. The stronger your loved one is, the more they may be able to safely do for themselves, and the less hands-on help they may need.
Staying at home isn't just about where your loved one lives. It's also about how much help they need to stay there.
Stronger legs can help keep those choices open.
Can Stronger Legs Help Keep Assisted Living Costs Lower?
Sometimes assisted living is the right choice for an older adult and their family. But once your loved one moves in, strength still matters.
In Minnesota, a one-bedroom assisted-living apartment can cost about $6,572 a month before additional care services are added.
Think of that as the cost of the apartment and basic living services. Care is a separate piece of the cost. When your loved one needs hands-on help with everyday activities, additional care charges can increase what the family pays.
That's why maintaining strength matters. The longer your loved one can safely manage more of their daily activities on their own, the less assistance they may need from staff, and the more likely they may be to remain at a lower level of care.
We've Seen This Happen
One Tandem client was paying $450 a day for his level of care, in addition to his assisted-living costs. After just 4 months of exercising with Tandem Strength & Balance®, that cost decreased to $275 a day.
His strength improved. He needed less assistance, and his cost of care changed.
Every person is different, and results cannot be guaranteed. But his experience shows why staying strong can matter even after someone moves into assisted living.
The goal isn't to wait until care costs increase. It's to help your loved one stay as strong and physically independent as possible for as long as possible.
Stronger legs can help keep the level of care, and potentially the cost of care, lower.
What About Memory Care?
Sometimes memory care becomes necessary because of cognitive changes, safety concerns, or the need for 24-hour supervision. Strength training may not change that need, but strong legs still matter.
Being able to keep walking matters. Strong legs help your loved one stand, walk, and move safely throughout the day. They may also help your loved one stay on their feet longer and rely less on a walker or wheelchair for everyday movement.
That can mean getting to meals, joining activities, visiting with others, and continuing to participate in the things they enjoy.
The goal isn't to change the need for memory care. It's to help your loved one keep moving, stay active, and do as much as they safely can for themselves.
Strong legs can help your loved one stay moving, and keep participating in the life around them.
How Tandem Strength & Balance® Helps
We work on the functional muscles that help older adults keep moving, stay active, and do more for themselves, and help keep their cost of care lower.
We know which muscles need to be strong to support everyday movement. Our physical therapists build exercises around those muscles and how your loved one needs to use them.
Your loved one doesn't have to be strong to get started. We meet them where they are and build from there. As they get stronger, we increase the resistance, change the exercises, and add new challenges.
The same physical therapist works with your loved one each session. Over time, they get to know what your loved one can do, what matters to them, and when they're ready for the next challenge.
Leg Strength Gives You Options
The stronger they are, the more they may be able to keep doing for themselves, and the more choices they may have about how they live their life.
Questions families ask about strength and the cost of care
Can my parent really get stronger at their age?
Yes. Strength can be built at any age, including in our 70s, 80s, and 90s.
Getting older doesn't mean your parent has to stop getting stronger. Strength naturally declines with age, but it can be built and maintained when muscles are challenged with enough resistance.
And strength is about more than getting stronger. Strong legs help your parent stay active, move safely, and do more for themselves, all important parts of staying independent.
The important part is continuing to challenge the muscles as they get stronger. That's how strength keeps moving forward.
At Tandem, we meet your parent where they are and build from there. Their age doesn't mean they can't get stronger.
What if my parent has a lot of health conditions?
Your parent may have several diagnoses, but that doesn't mean they can't build strength.
At Tandem, we look at the person, not just the diagnosis. We start with where your parent is today, what they can safely do, and what they need to keep doing.
Then we build from there, adjusting the exercises, resistance, and level of challenge to their abilities.
No matter their age or diagnosis, we keep coming back to the same thing: building and maintaining the leg strength they need to keep moving and stay as independent as possible.
What if my parent uses a walker?
Many of the older adults we work with use a walker. We meet them right where they are.
If your parent uses a walker, building and maintaining leg strength is even more important. Strong legs help them stand, step, and keep walking safely, and can help prevent them from becoming increasingly reliant on their walker.
At Tandem, we work on the strength and balance that help keep them moving. As your parent gets stronger, we increase the resistance and add new challenges to keep building that strength.
The goal isn't simply to get your parent off their walker. It's to help them stay as strong, mobile, and independent as possible, and keep them walking for as long as they safely can.
How long does it take to see a difference?
The first step is building leg strength. That takes time, and it doesn't always show up in everyday activities right away.
As your parent's leg strength builds, those changes can start to show up in everyday life. Getting up from a chair may become easier. Walking may feel more controlled. They may be able to do more for themselves.
Every person is different, and progress takes time. We keep working on strength, adjust the challenge as your parent improves, and keep your family informed about what we're seeing along the way.
Where Tandem works
Tandem Strength & Balance® serves all seven Twin Cities metro counties. Each area has its own page with local detail.
Counties
Cities - Tandem Strength & Balance® works with aging adults in all cities throughout the seven-county metro area
Let's talk about what your family is facing
A free in-home consultation with Nicole, Tandem's owner and a physical therapist. She'll see how your parent is doing, listen to what's become harder, and tell you honestly if Tandem can help.
No pressure. Just an honest conversation about what comes next.
Prefer to talk now? Call (952) 746-3222
Monday to Friday 7:30- 4pm