Taking care of your balance is a critical component of healthy aging. Everyday activities like reaching for your coffee cup, bending down to pick an item off the floor, putting on your socks, and getting up from a chair require subtle shifts in your body’s weight distribution. A healthy sense of balance allows you to hold your position or move at will during these weight fluctuations without experiencing a fall.
Gravity is constantly pulling you downward; giving you the tendency to fall, however, your ability to balance prevents this from happening. Balance control is a complex physiological process and unfortunately, if you don’t use it: you lose it. As the body ages, muscle strength, joint range of motion, and reaction time all gradually decrease. All of these factors can have a negative effect on an older person’s balance control system and may lead to a balance dysfunction –a factor linked to falls among the elderly.
Falls derived from poor balance can cause serious and even life-threatening injuries. According to the CDC, accidental falls are the leading cause of death among older adults. Every year, one in three adults over the age of 65 experiences a fall, and the risk of falling increases proportionately with age –at 80 years, over half of seniors fall annually (1). Recovery from a fall can sometimes result in up to a year in a long-term care facility, with some patients never again returning to their home.
Among this age group, falls are the number one cause of fractures, hospital admissions for trauma, loss of independence, and deaths that result from injury (2). Most of the fractures caused by falling are in the arm, hand, ankle, spine, pelvis, and hip. Hip fractures are one of the most serious types of fall injury, often resulting in long-term functional dysfunction, possible nursing home admission, and increased rate of mortality –One out of five hip fracture patients dies within a year of their injury (3). Unfortunately, falls account for 25% of all hospital admissions, and 40% of all nursing home admissions. 40% of those admitted to nursing homes do not return to independent living and 25% die within a year (4).These statistics may seem grim, but don’t think that there’s nothing you can do about it or that it will inevitably happen to you or a loved one.
Perhaps you believe that by limiting activities and becoming even more sedentary that the chances of falling will decrease (not true!). Also, if you think you can avoid falling as long as you stay at home, know this: The majority of all falls take place inside the home (5). What’s more, those who do fall are two-to-three-times more likely to fall again, and many people who fall, even if they are not seriously injured, develop a fear of falling. Injuries resulting from falls, reduced mobility and functional participation in daily activities, and the fear of falling can significantly reduce quality of life, making you dependent on others and taking away your freedom to move and live independently. But there is good news: falls are preventable. Falling is not an inevitable result of aging and deconditioning, and there are conscious steps you can take to improve your balance and decrease your chances of falling.
Muscle strength and flexibility, which are an imperative part of maintaining good balance, reduce with age, especially for those adults who are more sedentary, but these reductions can be partially restored with the right physical therapy program. Studies have shown that attention to certain risk factors, such as impaired balance and vision, can significantly reduce rates of falling. Considerable evidence indicates that the most effective fall reduction programs involve systematic fall risk assessment and targeted interventions (6). Additional research has revealed that a physical therapist-prescribed exercise program targeting balance and strength can be effective in improving a number of balance and related outcomes in older people with mild to moderate balance impairment (7). At Fyzical Therapy and Balance Centers of Lockport, we have a comprehensive Balance Program that includes assessment and evaluation programs, balance retraining, and vestibular rehabilitation therapy. With balance retraining and vestibular rehabilitation, our goal is to improve balance function and visual motor control, increase general activity levels, and help your body compensate for deficiencies noted.
As balance dysfunction can sometimes cause problems with walking, we also have a Gait Training program. Gait training consists of making sure that your manner of walking is as effective, efficient, sure-footed, and safe as it possibly can be. A balanced, steady gait can aide in the prevention of falls and injuries. Strength, endurance, motion, balance, and coordination are all components of an effective gait and our certified physical therapists work with patients to help them reach their goal of safe mobility and functional participation. Improving balance can reduce your risk of falling, so make it a priority to get a balance assessment test from your doctor or a certified Physical Therapist. Once that’s complete, a program of physical therapy specifically tailored to your balance needs will be created so you can begin your quest to regain your footing, your confidence, and your freedom.
Call Fyzical Therapy and Balance Centers of Lockport today to schedule your complimentary balance assessment and fall risk screening and begin your path toward improved safety today!*
Fyzical Lockport
16109 Farrell Rd
Lockport, IL 60441
p: (815) 306-4781
f: (815) 534-2438
*Due to federal guidelines, free assessment is not available to government sponsored insurance plans.
1 “Falls Among Older Adults: An Overview,” Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, http://www.cdc.gov/HomeandRecreationalSafety/Falls/adultfalls.html
2 Ibid.
3 “Hip Fractures AmongOlder Adults, ”Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, http://www.cdc.gov/HomeandRecreaionalSafety/Falls/adulthipfx.html
4 “How Often Falls Occur,” Learn Not to Fall, http://www.learnnottofall.com/content/fall-facts/how-often.jsp
5 “Where Seniors Fall,” Learn Not to Fall, http://www.learnnottofall.com/content/fall-facts/where-seniors-fall.jsp
6 Judy A. Stevens, A CDC Compendium of Effective Fall Interventions: What Works for Community-Dwelling Older Adults,”2nd Edition (Atlanta: CDC, 2010),1.
7 XiaoJing Yang, et al., “Effectiveness of a Targeted Exercise Intervention in Reversing Older People’s Mild Balance Dysfunction: A Randomized Controlled Trial,” Physical Therapy, 92 (2012).
8 Noh DK, et al., “The Effect of Aquatic Therapy on Postural Balance and Muscle Strength in Stroke Survivors—A Randomized Controlled Pilot Trial,” PubMed: Clin Rehabil, 2088 (10-11), http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/189554289 Melissa Gaskil, “Finding the Way,” TodayinPT.com