Balance - Origin Rehab Physical Therapy, Health, And Wellness

By Dave Balance, Falling, Origin Rehab Fall Prevention, Older Adults, Risk

Fast Tests for Predicting Fall Risk in Older Adults

Falls are a problem. A big problem. According to the latest estimates, 1 in 4 Americans over the age of 65 will fall this year because of their age alone. The likelihood increases to 1 in 3 when that person turns 80. When we start to add in other risk factors like medications, use of a cane or walker, or just a fear of falling it becomes more likely than not that the older adult we care for will fall. Our list doesn’t even consider the top predictor of falls in the senior population: a previous fall. That’s right! A previous fall more than doubles the risk that our loved one will fall again.

Physical therapist is screening a patient for their risk for falls.

August 29, 2022

By Dave Balance, Falling, Origin Rehab Fall Prevention, Older Adults, Risk

Preventing Falls in the Elderly and 65+ Adult Population

With recent celebrity deaths linked to falling, we wanted to highlight the risks and dangers of falling in senior adults. Even more important, we wanted to help you move beyond being afraid of falling to understanding your real risk and develop a plan for safer mobility.

Origin Rehabilitation is a recognized expert in prevention of falls for seniors. Our physical therapists have presented at the North Carolina Assisted Living Association Convention and other professional organizations teaching others fall prevention strategies for older adults. Our team has helped numerous clients physically recover from their falls and has prevented countless more. We are excited to do the same for you.

What Increases Risk for Falls in the Elderly

Falls have been studied for a long time. Fortunately, a great deal of information is known about the circumstances that lead to older adult falls.

Top Risk Factors for Falls in Adults Over 65 Years:

One or more previous fall
Fear of falling
Use of multiple medications or use of common medications for anxiety and depression
Weakness or loss of strength
Use of an assistive device like a cane or walker
Pain with activity

Each of these risk factors increases a person’s fall risk on its own. The presence of more than one of these only increases risk further.

How to Address Non-Physical Risk Factors for Falls in the Elderly?

Healthy adults over 65 years without ANY other risk factors have a 1 in 4 chance of falling in any given year. Risk for falls only increases with age (even in spite of good health) and when other risk factors are added to the mix.

There’s not much that can be done about the past, so your personal history of falls will be one risk factor that remains. However, some research suggests that the greater time since you’ve experienced a fall, future falls become less likely.

A fear of falling is rooted primarily in the future but based on past experience and current ability. Often, the treatment provided to address other risk factors helps to reduce our clients’ fear of falling.

Prescription medication is outside the scope of our training and expertise. We do encourage clients to talk with their medical provider about their medications often to ensure they’re on only the medications and dosages needed and not more.

How We Address Risk for Falls in Older Adults?

While we can’t expect to keep the same strength at 75 as we had at 25 and age commonly brings conditions like arthritis that can cause pain, these should not stop an older adult from participating in activities you enjoy.

Often, improving strength through common movement patterns can help to reduce pain as well. Instruction in technique may be needed to improve mechanics and this is exactly where a physical therapist will commonly focus treatment sessions for fall prevention.

Application of strength is another way to think about balance and better balance is often what is needed to reduce reliance on the cane or walker. We like to use these strategies in sequence usually in the same visit for our clients: address strength then teach the client how to move through a particular movement pattern using that muscle group.

Summary

Even healthy older adults over the age of 65 have a 1 in 4 chance of falling in a given year. It’s important to know any additional factors that can increase your fall risk.
Falling is not inevitable. It is not a “sentence.” Proactive steps can be taken to modify your risk in your favor. Some steps can be taken on your own (if you feel comfortable). Others may need the help of your medical provider or a physical therapist.
Movement is medicine in that it can help with pain, strength, and balance. This way, we may even be able to reduce your need for your cane or walker.
If you’re concerned about falling and don’t know where to start, hire a physical therapist experienced in working with older adults to lower your fall risk today. Start here (Get to Know YOUR Risk for Falls)

By Dave Balance, Falling

Falling: Facts Behind the Fear

If you generally step more gently as you go down the stairs, hold the hand-railing a little bit tighter, and take careful note of where your feet land next… you’re not alone. The vast majority of us either consciously or subconsciously fear the sudden jolt and feeling of vertigo related to feeling taking a tumble – not to mention the pain that comes afterwards! Our worst fears are realized when we start to think about the horrendous consequences of a fall: hip-fractures, muscle tears, back pain, even broken legs all come to mind. Yikes! Is it any wonder that a common nightmarish theme is falling out of bed? In fact, a fear of falling is so common that most people don’t even know they’re afraid! That’s right – the fear isn’t consciously spoken about or acknowledged, rather it translates into minute, prolonged posture and gait abnormalities which, if left unnoticed, can wreak havoc on one’s mobility and self-confidence. That’s why this post looks at why most people are secretly afraid of falling, why most don’t even know they’re afraid, and – thankfully – what we can do about tackling this problem.

Being afraid of falling is more than a cautious tip-toeing around objects: it’s an overarching alteration of the way we assess, approach, and interact with the world around us. Unbeknownst to many of us, the fear of falling actually restricts our movement, thus it can, in fact, cause pain and immobility over time. And not only that, it can actually reduce self-esteem, restricting us from otherwise social interactions along the way. So few of us ever really acknowledge the overarching effects of our fear that, consequently, we forget how our daily lives are being impacted – we become accustomed to limitations and we accept our worry as part of life. And yet, it doesn’t have to be that way! Take a look at some of the most common reasons you might be afraid of falling and what to do about it:

Decreased Balance

As you’ve gotten a bit older, you’ve stopped riding on your bicycle, stopped practicing yoga, and stopped rowing down the river in your canoe. The result? Your balance has deteriorated and you’ve started feeling the impact this has had on your mobility. The less balance-orientated activities you do, the less you hone your balancing skills, thereby allowing weight to be unevenly distributed throughout your body. This causes straining and overcompensation in certain areas and weakness in others. Subsequently, an unbalanced body wreaks havoc on your brain: is it that much more likely to fear falling… after all, it knows your balance is off! The answer? Well, get back on the yoga mat, dust off the bicycle, and start practicing activities that increase your balance; a daily effort to evenly distribute weight and create a greater awareness of your body’s balance is, ultimately, a giant leap on your road to overcoming the fear of falling.

Muscle Weakness

Just as you’ve given up the rowing, you’ve also neglected to do your daily walks or stretches, thus your muscles have started to weaken and lose strength. Without muscle strength, your body

isn’t capable of giving you the confidence needed to overcome a fear of falling. Again, your mind understands that your body is incapable of compensating for a fall if you have weak muscles, thus it trains you to restrict movement accordingly – it lessens the probability of a fall. Why not start walking for 30 minutes a day? Muscle weakness starts alongside a sedentary lifestyle: get active and feel the confidence return to both your body and mind.

Footwear

When it comes to falling, footwear matters. Yes, of course, wearing 9-inch heals to the park is asking for a tumble, but realistically, wearing shoes that are incapable of supporting and distributing your weight evenly is setting you up for failure. Footwear needs to be comfortable and stable, thus giving you the reassurance of a good, strong, supported stride. In addition, good footwear offers you balance! So, don’t hesitate to ditch the heels and opt of support and comfort – your body and muscles with thank you for it!

Obstacle Awareness

Clutter, mounds of clothes, various sofas, and random chairs in your home place before your body a daily obstacle course – from stepping over a coffee table, to swiveling around a badly-placed chair, these movements impact your peace of mind, place stress on your already weak muscles, and increase your fear of falling. The stress associated with navigating the living-room is, at its most basic level, akin to traversing an uneven hillside: the fact that you do it every day makes your mind and body feel as though you need to be protected, and thus your movements become limited. Obstacles feed your fear. If watching Marie Kondo is motivation enough to clean out the clutter, then waste no more time! Clear a path to freedom from fear!

At the end of the day, we know and understand that your fear of falling is far-reaching: from your body to your mind, your mobility and lifestyle are both being affected. That’s also why we know that seeing a professional, hands-on, caring physical therapist is by far the best, most effective, and safest way of tackling the issue. A qualified physical therapist is able to diagnose the root cause of the problem, assess posture, gait, and muscle tension, and work with you in order to free you from your daily anxiety. Furthermore, physical therapy offers you tailor-made exercises and stretches, thereby allowing you to maintain a strong, stable body and a life free from fear! With physical therapy, the self-confidence to step out proudly, strongly, and bravely will become second nature to you.

Being afraid of falling is as much about your body as it is about your mind: the limitations your mind places on your body is affecting your life for the worse. And that’s why we know that the freedom from fear enables you to live the life you dream of, do the activities you long to do, and be the person you hope to be. We’re here to help you, and we look forward to speaking to you about how we can assist and guide you on your journey to achieving confidence in yourself and your body. Call us today; we look forward to hearing from you!

By Dave Balance

Stability: A Balancing Act

Winter is here! Most of us have stocked up on firewood, cocoa, marshmallows, and blankets as we lay in wait for all the cold weather. We’ve even turned up the heating and removed grandma’s special knitted socks from storage. And yet, winter doesn’t just mean hot drinks and snuggles, does it? It also means fun! Many of us have also reached for our ice-skates, ski’s, or snowboards as the great freeze approaches. Hooray! And because of this, we thought this would be a perfect to time to talk about a really important topic: balance. Yes, that’s right, you can’t ice-skate, ski, or even toboggan without balance, but more than that, walking correctly, stabilizing your body, or keeping your skeletal and muscular health in check without having the correct balance can be… uh hum… a bit of a tightrope act. Don’t worry, we’ve got you covered. In this post we talk all things balance, from why you need it, to what happens when you don’t have it, all the way through to how you can improve it. So, let’s get some stability on the subject, shall we?

You might be thinking, “Well, hey, my balance is pretty good – I don’t fall off of my bicycle and I can still stand on one leg if I concentrate hard enough”. And that’s all pretty great, except that’s not really the type of balance that matters. Of course, we encourage cycling and circus acts, but what we’re really worried about is the overall balance of weight distribution as you go about your daily activities. Most falls and their ensuing back, hip, neck, and ankle problems are as a result of a misstep or an inability to balance weight and muscle function correctly. Balance is more than just a fleeting moment of stability on a bicycle: it’s the continual stability of your body in its entirety so as to preserve health and wellbeing.

Let’s make that a little clearer: balance is part of absolutely everything we do whether we are conscious of it or not. The way we walk, listen, and move are all part-and-parcel of the way we are able to balance weight. Mobility depends on our ability to balance muscles correctly; spine health is dependent on an even weight distribution throughout the body during movement and periods of rest; joint health is keenly affected by how well we are able to balance during activity. If we do not have good balance, then we are likely to injure ourselves in the long run – having great balance is a bit like enjoying superior tires on your car: if one or two are low, your wheel alignment changes and your car’s overall functionality suffers.

Here are just a few benefits of excellent balance:

Increased muscle strength.
Increased co-ordination and reaction time.
Strong, effective posture.
Increased skeletal strength.
Increased joint mobility.
Increased flexibility.

Ultimately, good balance is directly linked to health and quality of life. That’s great news, right? Absolutely! If, that is, you maintain stability. What happens, then, if you don’t keep an eye on your balance? As you age, your ability to balance decreases and, thus, your health follows suit in various ways. As balance ability declines, so too does the health of your muscles, bones, and general wellbeing. Falls, hip problems, back pain, neck pain, shoulder pain, and even headaches are sure to follow. One of the leading causes of serious injury and/or death are falls… unfortunately, most of them are as a result of impaired balance. Luckily, flawed balance doesn’t rear its ugly head overnight: there are warning signs you can look out for. Here they are:

Vertigo

Feeling as though the world is spinning – much like you did on the playground as a kid – is a sure sign that something may not be right with your balance. For some of you reading this, this feeling may be more severe than for others: many people become used to the spinning sensation and are unaware that they are off balance, thereby overcompensating on one side of the body and, as a result, increasing the problem and ensuring injury.

Muscle Pains on One Side of the Body

Because a destabilized body is in a state of unbalance, muscles and joints try to rectify the imbalance by overcompensating on one side. When this happens, muscles strain to one side thereby both increasing the unbalanced posture and, ultimately, increasing the chance of injury. Don’t ignore a nagging pain on one side of the body, as it may very well be causing an imbalance in weight distribution.

Blurred Vision

Oftentimes imbalanced bodies give way to various other issues, from disorientation through to blurred vision. Prolonged periods of muscle overcompensation can cause fatigue and mental distress and can, in severe cases, lead to blurred vision.

If the above seems all too close to home, don’t fear – we’re here to help. Take a look at some tips for how to get back on – and stay on – your feet in order to be a more stable, healthier you:

Yoga and Pilates

Doing activities focused on core strength, muscle flexibility, and overall mobility is essential in maintaining a good balance. Yoga and Pilates offer incredible benefits, here.

Daily Stretching

Always stretch, as this gives your muscles flexibility and mobility and, essentially, helps correct overcompensation if done correctly.

Physical Therapy

Physical therapy is the single most effective way of correcting balance issues: from improving posture, to increasing strength and mobility, physical therapy does it all. A professional, hands-on physical therapist will not only diagnose and treat the root cause of your balance problem, but will provide you with the tools to maintain great balance and posture outside of the clinic. In effect, physical therapy offers you the opportunity to ensure excellent balance and to continually live a pain-free, injury-free life. Avoid life-threatening falls by calling one of our dedicated physical therapists, right now. Balancing is, well, a balancing act. With the help of physical therapy you’ll be well on your way to being a stable, balanced, healthier person.

A strong, balanced, body is essential this winter: don’t let poor balance stop you from heading out there. Give us a call today and find out how we can help you get back to being strong and stable on your feet. One of our dedicated, professional physical therapists can’t wait to chat. Pull on your ice-skates, jump on your ski’s, and let’s get ready for an icy, balanced, injury-free winter!

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(704) 905-1333