Fall Prevention Strategies you don't want to miss!

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!! : )

Celebrate Independence and Freedom to MOVE and Balance

As Americans, we are truly blessed to have the independence and freedom to be, do, and say what we want. Being free to move around to enjoy all that this country and our world has to offer is a privilege. Being free to MOVE is a privilege in itself. We often take that privilege for granted until something happens to our body that takes away our ability to move around comfortably. Losing our independence and having to ask for help can be a major challenge. 

Imagine the frustration of not being able to bend down and put on your pants, socks, or shoes, or having to avoid stairs due to knee pain. Losing the freedom to reach up into the cabinets for ingredients, dishes, or pots/pans, or reach down into the dishwasher or lower drawers makes it challenging to perform kitchen tasks and prepare meals. Sitting and driving with chronic back, hip, or knee soreness can impede upon comfort during work or rest times, or when taking longer road trips.  A nagging, or sometimes sharp, painful sensation on the bottom of your foot makes standing or walking around uncomfortable. Sometimes these challenges can pop up seemingly overnight and really change the way you move about your day. 

As a Physical Therapist for over 25 years, it has been my privilege to help people regain their independence and restore their freedom of movement when pain and limitations have set in. Even though accidents happen, there are many things we can do to prevent injuries and stay OUT of pain. My book "MAGIC in Motion: Foundations for Functional Fitness" highlights 8 foundations for living a well-balanced life, including guidance on how to "Treat Yourself Well,” maintain your ability to independently perform your daily functional activities, and extend your “health span" throughout your lifespan. 

Have you ever stood sideways next to a mirror and noticed that the reflection of one side doesn't look exactly like you? Humans are relatively symmetrical, from side to side, but not exactly. We have one dominant, more developed side, and because of the asymmetrical sizes and placement of our internal organs, the deep hip flexor muscles (Psoas Major) and connective tissues (fascia) are slightly different from side to side. These asymmetries cause our pelvis to shift slightly forward on the left side, and we bear more weight onto our right side. Add in repetitive movements, stresses, traumas and resulting scar tissue, and bodies are certainly not perfectly balanced. Despite these subtle differences and imbalances, your body works best when you can achieve as symmetrical alignment and range of motion as possible from side to side. 

Having a regular self-care practice to assess your unique alignment, full body movements, and any asymmetries is valuable so you can maintain your pain free functions, or seek help to address any concerns as they arise. The MELT Method is a gentle, self-care system using soft rubber balls to treat your hands and feet, and rubberized foam rollers for larger body parts. These treatments help you reconnect with your internal body sense and awareness, calm and rebalance your nervous system, release stuck stress and tension in your body, and rehydrate your connective tissues. Having these gentle tools at home is helpful to independently address your unique imbalances. 

Balance and stability exercises are in important addition to your self-care and fitness routine. These can include moving through full, pain-free range of motion for each joint (head, neck, shoulders, elbows, wrist and hand, torso, pelvis, hips, knees, ankles and feet) to assess the mobility available, and to notice any difficulties moving into certain positions. Performing exercises for the foot, hip, and core will have a positive impact on balance reactions. Standing on one leg at a time is an important foundation for functional freedom, including walking, dressing, and certain hygiene activities. The whole body has to work together to make that happen efficiently.  Moving your head into various positions, as well as closing one or both of your eyes, will challenge your vestibular system involved with your balance. Building strength and stability through your spinal and scapular (shoulder blade) areas will help you achieve a more balanced posture and be able to stay upright against gravity to perform your daily functional activities. 

Contact me today for your copy of Basic Balance Challenges, whole body exercises to try at home. These activities will enhance your overall stability and reaction time, and maintain your functional freedom and independence. www.1212bodyworks.com Call/text 414-405-3956, Email 1212bodyworks@gmail.com

This blog was written for the Humble Warrior Wellness and Yoga organization's newsletter. This 501C-3 non-profit organization supports and benefits Women Veterans and First Responders. These servicewomen have done so much to help maintain our many freedoms, so the women of Humble Warrior are giving back with wellness offerings, workshops, and retreats. I had the pleasure of teaching a Balance & Stability class, working alongside and serving these fantastic women at the Lake Life Retreat (June 2025) in Valders, WI. To support them yourself or make a donation, click on the link above. Thank You! 

Freedom of Movement & Independence

 

We may not all agree on who is in charge of making the decisions for our country or how our hard earned tax dollars are spent, but as Americans, I think we can all agree on the fact that our independence and freedom is something to be celebrated! Imagine how different our country would be if we were limited from living the way we want to live. As humans, our ability to live independently and have freedom to move is also something to be celebrated! It's often not until we lose the ability to use our body comfortably that we appreciate all that it does for us. Each one of us is in charge of making the decisions for our own body that will make us feel good and thrive, or feel yucky and decline. It's not always easy to prioritize our wellness and take proactive steps to keep ourselves feeling and moving well. Sometimes it feels easier to stay on the couch, reach for the ready-made processed food, or put off our wellness routine until tomorrow. Often, our focus is set on the things we can't do as well anymore, or the area of the body that is feeling pain. Celebrating our body for all of the freedom of movement that it is still capable of, despite the pain, is so important! Our independence relies on us learning to treat ourselves well, if we want to keep moving forward.  I'm so excited to share a new way to help you recover and maintain your freedom of movement and independence!! When I first learned about this simple, self-care system, it stopped me in my tracks, and I couldn't wait to try it! After I felt immediate results, I started sharing it with my clients, family, and friends.  The MELT Method is a self-care technique that enhances mobility, stability, and performance and is clinically proven to reduce chronic pain while restoring overall well-being. Using specially designed soft balls and rubberized foam rollers, you can rebalance your body's nervous system and rehydrate the connective tissue system.    It has been amazing to witness the changes in the clients who have adopted this method as part of their home wellness program! One client, who had a neck fusion surgery several decades ago, has noticed much less pain and presents in my office with much more stability in his neck and shoulders since he committed to using the tools & techniques at home. Another client says she is sleeping so much better now that her body has a way to "undo her day" each night. One client even told me, "I barely even noticed that I woke up" when first moving around in the morning, now that her body is so much better hydrated!  Because of the success that my clients and I felt immediately, I chose to embark on a 3 month training process to become a MELT Method Instructor! Now that I'm certified, I can't wait to share this life-changing method with as many people as I can. Let's get rolling! :)    Join me for my first MELT Method Hand and Foot Workshop on Wednesday July 12,  from 10-11:30am at 1212 Bodyworks, Brookfield. You'll learn a gentle, self-treatment for your hands and feet, using the MELT soft ball system, that will feel good for your whole body!   $49. Space is limited, so be sure to click the link above to register.                        Have you been feeling less than independent with your daily activities because of pain or limited movement? Curious about a custom MELT Method treatment session?  Or, just need a reboot to get your body back into balance? Simply call, text [(414) 405-3956] or email [1212bodyworks@gmail.com] to schedule your next session. I'd love to help you restore your independence and freedom of movement!    Keep Moving Well!  -Emily-