Page 15 - Senior Link Magazine Winter 2019- Online Magazine

HONORING SENIORS

Balance Injuries from falls, reduced mobility walking is as effective, sure-footed,
and safe as it possibly can be. A
and activity, and the fear of falling can
significantly reduce your quality of
balanced, steady gait helps in the
& life, making you dependent on others prevention of falls and injuries.
and taking away your freedom to
Strength, endurance, motion, balance,
and coordination are all components
move and live independently.
Healthy But here’s the good news: Falls of an effective gait, and a certified
physical therapist can work with
patients to help them reach their goal
are preventable. Falling is not an
Aging inevitable result of aging, and there of safe mobility.
are steps you can take to improve your
balance and decrease your chances of
Improving your balance can reduce
falling. your risk of falling, so make it a
priority to get a balance assessment
by Keefe C. Fugleberg, Muscle strength and flexibility, which test from your doctor or a certified
are imperative to maintaining good
Physical Therapist. Once that’s
PT, Co-Founder of FYZICAL balance, decrease with age, especially complete, a program of physical
for sedentary adults, but these can therapy specifically tailored to your
Having good balance is a critical be partially restored with the right balance needs will be created so that
component of healthy aging. physical therapy program. you can begin your quest to regain
Everyday activities, like reaching for your footing, your confidence, and
your coffee cup, bending down to Studies have shown that attention to your freedom.
pick up the paper, putting on your certain risk factors, such as impaired
shoes, and getting up from a chair, balance, can significantly reduce rates Sources:
require subtle shifts in your body’s of falling. Considerable evidence
weight distribution. A healthy sense indicates that the most effective “Falls Among Older Adults: An
of balance allows you to hold your fall reduction programs involve Overview,” Centers for Disease Control
and Prevention, http://www.cdc.gov/
position or move at will during these systematic fall risk assessment and HomeandRecreationalSafety/Falls/adultfalls.
weight fluctuations. targeted interventions (3). html

Balance control is a complex Additional research reveals that “Where Seniors Fall,” Learn Not to Fall, http://
physiological process, and just as with a physical therapist-prescribed www.learnnottofall.com/content/fall-facts/
muscles, if you don’t use it, you lose exercise program targeting balance where-seniors-fall.jsp
it. As the body ages, muscle strength, and strength can be effective in Judy A. Stevens, A CDC Compendium of
joint range of motion, and reaction improving a number of balance- Effective Fall Interventions: What Works for
time all decrease. Falls from poor related outcomes in older people with Community-Dwelling Older Adults,” 2nd
Edition (Atlanta: CDC, 2010),1.
balance can cause serious, and even mild balance impairment (4). With
life-threatening, injuries. Each year, balance retraining and vestibular
one in three adults over the age of 65 rehabilitation, it is possible to improve Xiao Jing Yang, et al., “Effectiveness of a
Targeted Exercise Intervention in Reversing
falls, and the risk of falling increases balance function and visual motor Older People’s Mild Balance Dysfunction:
proportionately with age; at 80 years, control. A Randomized Controlled Trial,” Physical
over half of seniors fall annually (1). Therapy, 92 (2012).
As balance
Perhaps you believe that if you limit dysfunction
your activities and become even more can sometimes
sedentary your chances of falling will cause problems
decrease - not true! If you think you with walking,
can avoid falling as long as you stay you can
at home, know this: the majority of all participate in a
falls take place inside the home (2). Gait Training
Those who do fall are two-to-three- program.
times more likely to fall again, and Gait training
many people who fall, even if they are consists of
not seriously injured, develop a fear of making sure
falling. that your
manner of

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