While everyone wants to avoid painful trips and falls, fall prevention is particularly important for older adults. Both the normal effects of aging and health conditions that are common in senior citizens may cause greater vulnerability to falling. And older people can suffer more serious consequences, like fractures, from falling.
The good news is that you can take many different steps to reduce your falling risk. At JAG PT, our balance and fall prevention program can help you remove hazards from your home environment and maintain your mobility and equilibrium. Schedule an appointment at your local JAG PT clinic to take fall prevention into your own hands, or read on to learn the essential facts about avoiding falls.
Why Is Balance and Fall Prevention Essential for Seniors' Well-Being?
Senior balance and fall prevention are crucial for seniors’ well-being. That’s because as we age, changes occur in the body, which can disrupt the systems that control balance and make us more vulnerable to falls. These systems comprise the somatosensory system that conveys a range of sensations — for example, position and movement from the body to the brain. The vestibular system, located within the inner ear, regulates your balance and provides your brain with information about the location of your body within space and the direction of movement. Finally, the visual system, which includes the eyes and parts of the brain, naturally plays a part in balance.
Deterioration in any one of these systems can mean we find it harder to keep our balance and are more likely to have a fall. So things like inner ear problems or a loss of vision can mean an older person is more susceptible to falls.
Specific medical conditions like Parkinson’s disease and multiple sclerosis may also cause problems with balance, which can lead to falls.
What’s more, the loss of muscle strength we experience as we age can also increase the risk of falls.
The consequences of experiencing a fall can be serious for older people and can lead not only to physical injuries like concussions, sprains, fractures, cuts, and bruises but also to a loss of independence and confidence.
That’s why it’s so important to get proactive about fall prevention — it’s an essential part of ensuring the overall health and well-being of older members of the community.
How Can Physical Therapy Help Seniors Improve Balance and Reduce Fall Risks?
Senior physical therapy is an effective treatment to help older people improve their balance and reduce the risk of falls. It’s a specialized area led by experienced physical therapists who can identify whether they are at risk of falls. If so, there are lots of strategies they can suggest to offset the risk.
When you come for a senior balance and fall prevention consultation, your physical therapist will ask you questions about your general health and lifestyle and assess your balance and gait.
From there, they can offer some evidence-based exercises and interventions to help address your balance issues and fall risk factors. These include balance, flexibility and endurance training, and an assessment of your home environment to remove hazards.
It’s important to know that your physical therapist will create an individualized fall prevention plan based on your own unique needs and abilities. It will be tailored to your strengths and weaknesses to ensure that it maximizes the potential to prevent falls.
What Specific Exercises and Techniques Are Used in Fall Prevention Physical Therapy?
Let’s take a closer look at the sorts of exercises and techniques that can improve your balance, strength, and flexibility if you’re an older person.
Weight-shifting exercises are an excellent place to start. One easy but important exercise is side sways — while sitting in a chair or standing, position your feet so they’re a little more than your hips’ width apart. Lean your body to the right, ensuring that your feet are in contact with the floor. Repeat 10 to 15 times in each direction.
Single leg stands are also an effective exercise for balance. Stand behind a chair and hold onto the back with both hands. Slowly lift one leg off the ground. Keep balancing on one leg for 5 seconds. Return to your original position and repeat 5 times. Then perform the same routine on the other side.
Tai chi, a low-impact martial art emphasizing graceful movement and breathing, is also a popular activity among older adults recently, and you can find group classes in almost any local area.
Please note that it’s best to learn how to do fall prevention exercises with the professional guidance of a physical therapist. They will be able to show you the correct technique to ensure that you don’t hurt yourself.
Once you’ve had your balance and fall consultation with your physical therapist, they will put together a treatment plan customized to your needs that incorporates these activities.
This will help you gain fitness and strength and improve your balance, thus reducing your risk of falls. As a result, you’ll feel more confident and independent and freer to live your life to the fullest.
Beyond Exercises: Comprehensive Fall Prevention Strategies and Education for Seniors
Fall prevention is as much about making changes to your everyday environment as it is about exercise.
As part of your senior balance and fall prevention consultation, your therapist will ask you questions about your home and work environments and help you identify potential fall hazards. These can include poorly-fitting carpets, uncovered cables, and mess and clutter in your environment. Once you identify issues like these, it’s typically easy to fix them with solutions like mats to cover computer cables or small storage bins.
Schedule an Appointment with JAG Physical Therapy for Comprehensive Fall Prevention
If you’re concerned about your balance or falling, you should know that by being proactive you can greatly reduce your risk of coming to harm. At JAG PT, our compassionate and skilled therapy staff is ready to help you stay mobile and avoid falling hazards. Book an appointment today or find your nearest location to get started with us.
Learn More from JAG PT:
- Preventing Slips, Trips, and Falls At Work
- 7 Fall prevention Exercises for People With Arthritis
- How Long Does It Take to See Improvement from Physical Therapy?
- The Timing of Physical Therapy for Low Back Pain: Does It Matter in Workers' Compensation?