Balance and Your Body: How Exercise Can Help You Avoid a Fall
Can You Help My Aging Parent?
“They’re living alone and I’m in another city. I’m worried they’re going to fall and hurt themselves. They won’t go to a gym, and I saw on your website that you offer in-home fitness training to older adults.”
I’ve seen many emails and received just as many phone calls like this. Increasingly, adult children are living in different cities from their elderly parents and they feel helpless. They may see their parents infrequently, and each time, the changes in their loved ones can be an eye-opener. Time is marching on and the physical declines are more marked with each passing visit.
In many cases, they want to help their parents maintain their independence and stay in their homes. And they know one slip, trip, or fall is all that separates them from permanent residency at a long-term care facility. And when I do visit their parents, we begin to work on the main components of fall prevention: balance, strength, and mobility.
“They’re living alone and I’m in another city. I’m worried they’re going to fall and hurt themselves. They won’t go to a gym, and I saw on your website that you offer in-home fitness training to older adults.”
I’ve seen many emails and received just as many phone calls like this. Increasingly, adult children are living in different cities from their elderly parents and they feel helpless. They may see their parents infrequently, and each time, the changes in their loved ones can be an eye-opener. Time is marching on and the physical declines are more marked with each passing visit.
In many cases, they want to help their parents maintain their independence and stay in their homes. And they know one slip, trip, or fall is all that separates them from permanent residency at a long-term care facility. And when I do visit their parents, we begin to work on the main components of fall prevention: balance, strength, and mobility.
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From the back cover:
Falls are the leading cause of injury, emergency room visits, and hospitalizations for seniors in North America. Every 11 seconds, an emergency room in the United States sees a senior fall victim. Falls can reduce independence and accelerate the need for long-term care. The good news is that you can reduce the risk of falling with simple exercises that anyone can easily learn. This book provides a home-based fall prevention workout that doesn’t require special equipment, sweating, or getting down on the floor. The exercises improve balance, increase muscle and bone strength, and liberate joints throughout your body. Modifications are provided to make each sequence easier or more challenging.
With the guidance in this book, you can:
Improve your balance, 15 to 30 seconds at a time
Learn how to engage more muscles when you sit and stand, and
Practice good walking mechanics using common household recycling items like empty paper towel tubes.
The book is divided into three easy-to-follow sections: The Problem, The Solution, and The Action Plan. A dozen foundational exercises are described in detail and accompanied with illustrations. The exercises are designed to be tackled one at a time, so you can fit them into your daily life at your own leisure. By doing so, you will increase your strength, improve your posture, and boost your confidence — all vital components in preventing a fall.
With the guidance in this book, you can:
Improve your balance, 15 to 30 seconds at a time
Learn how to engage more muscles when you sit and stand, and
Practice good walking mechanics using common household recycling items like empty paper towel tubes.
The book is divided into three easy-to-follow sections: The Problem, The Solution, and The Action Plan. A dozen foundational exercises are described in detail and accompanied with illustrations. The exercises are designed to be tackled one at a time, so you can fit them into your daily life at your own leisure. By doing so, you will increase your strength, improve your posture, and boost your confidence — all vital components in preventing a fall.
Excerpts from Balance and Your Body:
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Clock Toe Taps
Clock toe taps are a transition exercise to help you incorporate static balance with a degree of coordination as you move one leg away from your body and return it back to the centre. This exercise is more dynamic than the last balance challenge, but not as involved as a fully dynamic balance exercise. Image: Copyright Emily Sterczyk, 2019, All rights reserved. Text: Copyright Amanda Sterczyk, 2019, All rights reserved. |