The following statistics regarding falls are staggering, literally. (Shared from my recent continuing education course "Helping Patients Stay on their Feet")
• In 2019, over 8 million older American had a fall-related injury
• Resulting in more than 34,000 deaths (93 older adults per day)
• More than 1 in 3-4 older adults (28%) fall each year
• Approximately 36 millions falls annually
• Falls in older adults cost healthcare system approximately $50 billion dollars in 2015
Holy cow!! That is a LOT of money! Not to mention waaaay too many people affected by falls!
The best Fall Prevention Strategy of them all is to work on your balance reactions and challenge yourself to improve your strength and stability regularly. As you likely know by now, helping clients improve their balance has been a long-time passion of mine. Teaching the weekly Balance & Stability group fitness class at the Wisconsin Athletic Club has been an absolute joy, and it's already been over a year since I started teaching. During this time, I've had multiple class attendees, who are regulars, come up to me and share stories of how their commitment to our class and the strategies we practice regularly have positively impacted their life.
"I was told that my blood pressure & cholesterol were in a range that required medication. I told the doctor to give me some time to make some lifestyle changes and then we would recheck. After 8 months of taking regular walks, taking this Balance Class, and doing a weekly yoga class, my numbers are now all in the healthy range!!" -Mary (70 y.o.)
"I'm able to keep up with my grandkids and get up and down from the floor much better since we started this class!" -Kathy (68 y.o)
"I recently had my gall bladder removed. I was able to use my feet to pick things up off of the floor while I was recovering and couldn't bend forward. I wouldn't have been able to do that if it weren't for practicing doing that in our Balance Class!" -Karrie (53 y.o.)
"We went on vacation with another couple from class, and had to walk across a log to get to the other side of a creek, and we said, 'Emily would be proud of us that we all did it!'" -John (75 y.o.)
I just love hearing their success stories! I just wish the classroom was bigger and even more people could come and join us and enhance their balance too.
I decided it would be fun to share some of my favorite balance exercises here with you. This is a document I created to share with the Humble Warrior Wellness and Yoga organization this summer at their annual retreat. These exercises can be incorporated weekly, even while doing other activities at home to "stack" your habits and be sure to get them in.
 |
| Balance Exercises |
Let me know how these go for you and which ones you like best. If you are interested in giving my Balance Class a try, reach out for a free pass to the WAC. I'd love to have you join me!
My prayer for you is to stay active, vibrant, and functionally independent as long as you possibly can and stay away from becoming part of the above statistics! You can do this!! : )
