As age increases, many impairments in physical performance may result from muscular deficits of strength, power, balance, and cognition or spatial awareness of your surroundings. However, the objective of this blog is to help you self-assess risk, create awareness, and learn how to utilize these areas of muscular deficit to prevent risks of falling.
While my passion is to support increasing longevity and vitality, (especially to an aging population), here are some statistics supporting my reasoning “Why” behind bringing this topic to your attention:
⦁ More than 1 out of 4 older adults over the age of 65 fall each year.
⦁ Falls are the leading cause of fatal injury among older adults.
⦁ 1 in 5 results in serious injury: broken bones, or head injuries
⦁ 95% of hip fractures are caused by falling, the biggest predictor of another fall and increases risk of mortality.
⦁ 30% of older patients that have had a hip fracture, die within a year of fracture
⦁ 20-30% of skeletal muscle mass is lost between adulthood and 80 years of age
⦁ Although this is multifactorial, resulting in:
⦁ Reduced independence
⦁ Limited activities
⦁ Decreased social engagement.
⦁ Physical decline
⦁ Weakness
⦁ Depressed mood
Some Key contributing risk factors to falls include:
Muscle weakness: Decreased lower body strength, balance, walking
Foot problems: pain, loss of sensation, improper footwear (slippers w/o traction, high heeled shoes, etc.).
Medical conditions and medications: dizziness, vertigo, sleepiness, hypotension, prescription and OTC medications
Vision: vision change – need for more light or change in vision/eye wear
Does this mean you have to live in fear? Absolutely not, however, creating awareness is the first step, and then taking action to aid in prevention are key!
Do you have Environmental hazards in your home?
These include trip and fall hazards in the home:
⦁ Unsecured throw rugs,
⦁ Slippery or uneven surfaces,
⦁ Pets, especially small cats/dogs getting under your feet.
⦁ Dehydration
Tips for prevention:
⦁ Secure or remove loose rugs, (place a nonslip mat underneath or find one with a silicone or rubber backing)
⦁ Remove clutter
⦁ Quickly dry spills
⦁ Install handrails in bathrooms and stairs
⦁ Hydration
⦁ Eating Balanced meals focused on protein spaced throughout the day Resistance training 3x/wk
How exercise can help:
Although environmental hazards are the leading cause of falls, gait and balance disorders closely follow. Balance is important for maintaining postural equilibrium, avoiding falls, and can be divided into many categories. Following up with your PCP, ND, or local PT for assessing overall functional ability and fall risk can help you figure out where to start.
These may include recommendations that can be tailored to you individually such as:
⦁ General Strength Training
⦁ Building improvements into a daily lifestyle routine
⦁ Postural Maintenance Program
⦁ Balance Training (Tai Chi, yoga)
⦁ Core Training, and Flexibility Training
Disclaimer: The content of this site is for informational and educational purposes only and is not a substitute for professional medical advice or consultations with your health care professional.
Resources:
⦁ Cruz, David Improving The Posture and Health of Your Older Clients (2017) http://blog.nasm.org/fitness/improving-posture-health-older-clients/
⦁ Gschwind, Y., et al. A best practice fall prevention exercise program to improve balance, strength/power, and psychosocial health in older adults: study protocol for a randomized controlled trial (2013) ⦁ https:/⦁ /⦁ www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3852637/
⦁ Penny, Stacey Exercise Tips for Fall Prevention (2016) http://blog.nasm.org/fitness/exercise-tips-fall-prevention%E2%80%8E/
⦁ Tug Test: https://www.ons.org/sites/default/files/TUG_Test-a.pdf