Balance Training and Fall Prevention for the Elderly

Anyone who has had to care for an older parent knows how unsettling it is if their mom or dad falls. If you’ve never experienced that circumstance, consider yourself fortunate. Once your parents get old enough, their bones get weak, and a minor fall that might just result in a mark on a younger person could crack their bones. Other than placing them within a force field or into an assisted care facility, what can you do to prevent your parent from falling?

Balance Exercises

Balance issues may have many different causes such as head traumas, ear conditions, bone disorders, strokes, or other nerve-related problems. On a yearly basis, 33% of adults older than 65 encounter lightheadedness and/or vertigo, resulting in falls that may be devastating and cause them to require care by a family member or an assisted care facility. As people get older, their bodies lose stability as their equilibrium changes. Certain medications may lead to balance issues like dizziness and unsteadiness. By performing the proper workouts, your parents can fortify their muscles and enhance their reflex responses in order to avoid suffering any broken or fractured bones.

Preventing Falls

A good way to circumvent falls is to enroll your parent(s) in balance therapy with a skilled physical therapist who can teach them to improve the strength of their primary muscles in addition to quickening their response times to slips and stumbles. If they can react faster, they’ll have greater ability to latch onto some type of support as they’re falling to avoid sustaining severe injuries.

Constituents of Therapy

Your family member is handled respectfully as they undergo a number of individual phases of therapy. Although each person is unique and needs different things, there are several standard techniques we employ that will assist all patients with their sense of equilibrium. The first thing we address is body placement, which helps patients to establish their sense of equilibrium and prevent themselves from falling over.

A lot of elderly people tend to stoop over due to the deterioration of their bones. We can teach them how to maintain a more balanced sitting and standing posture that will ensure their comfort and help them to remain steady while moving. Generally speaking, people are led by their noses. Consequently, if you’re looking at the ground, it’s easy to find yourself there since you’re not focusing on what’s going on around you. It’s much simpler to keep your balance if you’re looking in front of you as opposed to down at the ground.

The majority of falls occur during the night when it’s dark, and everyone depends on artificial lighting to get around. We’ll train your parent to see in various kinds of conditions, and even when their eyes are shut. A lot of household surfaces aren’t as quite as flat and level as we might think they are, which includes everything from thick carpets or rugs to the consistency of flooring and steps. These elements can cause people to become unsteady while they’re moving. During the therapy we provide, your loved one will perform a series of challenging activities that will improve their abilities to move and maneuver.

Lots of older people become afraid after falling. Concerned that they’ll fall once again, they’re compelled to take up residence in a nursing home, usually being forced to sell their houses and personal belongings to be able to pay for the center’s living costs. Fall avoidance and balance coaching can allow your elderly parent(s) to remain independent by taking care of themselves in their own homes.
If you want to consult with a skilled physical therapy center to help ease your parents’ discomfort, make them more independent, and prevent them from suffering hazardous falls and the consequences thereof, please call or set up an appointment with us online today.