Improving Balance to Prevent Falls

Young children fall frequently as they exuberantly and daringly practice new skills.  Thankfully, all that is usually required is a bandage and a kiss and off they go. When older adults fall, it is a different story.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, one-third of adults over age 65 fall each year. These falls can result in serious injury.  Skin, bones, muscles and joints are more fragile in older adults; therefore, injury is more likely and healing is usually slower. 

When older adults are injured, inactivity leads to stiffness and weakness.  Commonly, the fear of falling makes it even harder to bounce back to prior activities, resulting in a spiraling loss of strength, agility and balance.

Fall prevention starts with making sure your home is well lit and free of clutter and trip hazards. Simple solutions such as wearing glasses, when you need them, and wearing non-slip shoes can help. 

You can also reduce your risk of falling by improving your balance.

What Is Balance?

Balance is a person’s ability to remain upright. A person with good balance can remain upright even when experiencing the unexpected—such as a dip in the sidewalk or being jostled in a crowd. Maintaining balance is complicated and uses many body systems including vision, hearing, position sense, movement sense, strength and agility.

Because so many body systems contribute to balance, there are many reasons a person could have a physical problem with it. Below are some conditions that could result in decreased balance:

• Inactivity – leads to weakness, stiffness and slower reaction time
• Poor posture or poor eyesight – obstacles are less visible
• Arthritis or injury to muscles, joints or bones
• Circulation or blood pressure problems
• Coordination problems
• Decreased flexibility
• Decreased hearing and inner ear problems
• Heart or lung problems
• Medications or combinations of medications
• Neurological problem or disease – such as stroke, brain injury, spinal cord injury, Multiple Sclerosis or Parkinson’s disease
• Pain

The Good News Is, Balance Can Be Improved

A physician or a physical or occupational therapist can test your strength, flexibility, coordination and balance and make recommendations for reducing your risk of falling.  They can evaluate your strengths and weaknesses and design a custom therapy program with exercises designed to improve your balance and confidence along with teaching strategies to lower your risk for falls. Many therapists use advanced technology combined with their clinical skills to evaluate and treat balance problems.

Advanced Technology Keeps You in Balance

Today’s balance training systems use sensitive balance platforms and visual displays for balance evaluation and treatment. Systems are designed to measure your balance and problem areas. The therapist can then program the system to begin at a level that is safe and comfortable, and slowly increase the difficulty.  Therapy is customized to challenge and train your muscles, vision, inner ear and reaction time.  This training can translate to improved balance and confidence and reduce your risk for falling. 

So whether you make a pledge to increase your walking and exercise, or participate in therapy with a balance system technology, you CAN improve your balance.

Senior Care Products, Winter 2011