Fall prevention is serious business. In 2021, emergency departments recorded nearly 3 million visits for older adults falls.(About older adult fall prevention, 2024) Falls are preventable. Start by ensuring that tripping hazards aren’t present in your home. These can be carpets, stools, boxes, and clutter on the floor. Don’t forget about misplaced items like chairs, tables, or lager items. Ask a family member or a caregiver for help rearranging your home. The older we get the more serious injuries can be with minor to major injuries taking a lot longer to heal.
Part two of fall prevention is doing your part in maintaining your own wellness by ensuring your vision and mobility are healthy. Do this by daily exercise and regular doctor appointment visits. Also think about a daily yoga routine. Yoga, like daily wrist rotations, ankle rotations, leg lifts front, back, and side can help prolong good flexibility and energy levels. Another way to maintaining your health and well being is taking walks.
More physical activities that help build endurance include walking, jogging, yard work, dancing, swimming, biking, climbing stairs or hills and playing a sport like tennis or basketball. Lifting weights, carrying groceries, gripping a tennis ball, overhead arm curl, arm curl, wall push-up, lifting your body weight, and using resistance bands are all examples of strength exercises. For balance training Tai Chi that is a moving mediation that involves shifting the body slowly, gently, and precisely while breathing deeply. Other exercises for balance are standing on one foot, heel-to-toe walk, the balance walk, and standing from a seated position. These are all recommended for training to prevent falls and higher quality of life. (Four types of exercise can improve your health and physical ability | National Institute on Aging, 2021)
There are many resources you can find online that can help you become more aware of how to prevent falls. One resource is the Farah and Farah website; found here http://farahandfarah.com/preventing-slips-and-falls-for-seniors/. This website has a lot of information on falls prevention including a fall-proofing check list for each room and best shoes brands for seniors. If you feel like you require a caregiver to get you through your day or are recovering from a fall, work with a caregiver. Champion Care can supply your caregiver efficiently and at a low price. Complete the fill-in-the-blank form located by clicking this link to get started
Citation:
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2024, May 16). About older adult fall prevention. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. https://www.cdc.gov/falls/about/index.html
Four types of exercise can improve your health and physical ability | National Institute on Aging. National Institute on Aging. (2021, January 29). https://www.nia.nih.gov/health/exercise-and-physical-activity/four-types-exercise-can-improve-your-health-and-physical