Medications And Senior Balance Exercises

Need For Senior Balance Exercises

By Suzanne Stoke, Physical Therapist @ Exercise For Balance via www.exerciseforbalance.com

   Many older individuals take medications that can effect their stability and cause a greater need to practice senior balance exercises. Please see   http://www.exerciseforbalance.com/buy-now As folks age, they often start on a regimen of medications for pain, arthritis, heart conditions, neuropathy, eye issues and so much more. Many of these medications have imbalance or lightheadedness as a side effect. One category of medications in particular can lead to being off balanced and a greater risk for falls. For example, taking sleeping pills can result in a higher incidence of falling among older individuals. The overprescribing of sleeping pills in elders is becoming a serious health problem. According to recent reporting, sleeping pills are putting elders at risk of falls and other harmful consequences (such as traffic accidents and cognitive impairment). At the same time, the longer one relies on a sleeping pill, the less effective it becomes in promoting sleep. While sleeping tablets are an effective way to get a good night's rest, elders are staying on them far longer than they should. So why do elders stay on sleeping pills? Some of the reasons include:

•    Doctors and elders don’t speak enough about how and when sleeping pills should be used. Doctors may think that elders don’t want to stop their pills and would resist if encouraged to do so.
•    Doctors may feel they don’t have time to discuss sleeping pills because it’s not a priority during the office visit.
•    Doctors and elders assume that sleeping medication are still helpful in getting to sleep; even though evidence shows that pills aren’t effective after a few weeks of taking them. More than one month of prolonged use of sleeping pills can cause significant side effects.
•    Elders may not be aware of the side effects; they assume that because doctors don’t challenge them on their sleeping tablet use, it is not a concern.

  Those in the aging population who take sleep medication on a regular basis should be extra diligent to practice certain stability techniques and senior balance exercises to minimize the potential of a fall.

Senior Balance Exercises For Safety At Night

     Older individuals who regularly take sleeping pills at night should focus on practicing specific steadiness principles as well as senior balance exercises to help them enhance their overall stability. Since sleeping pills can often lead to grogginess in the morning or increased instability if you get up at night to go to the bathroom, it is imperative for older adults to rehearse equilibrium routines in order to maximize their balance abilities and minimize the risk for falling. One such equilibrium routine that can be practiced in the comfort of your own Home involves tandem walking. A tandem walking exercise involves walking along a line in a heel to toe fashion. During tandem walking, the goal is to touch the toes of the back foot to the heel of the front foot as you walk along the line. By practicing your tandem walking routine, you will develop excellent balance reactions at your feet and ankles which will translate to improved steadiness with all walking activities. You can learn how to correctly perform tandem walking and other senior balance exercises by following the demonstration of a qualified physical therapist in the exercise for balance DVD.

Senior Balance Exercises In The Exercise For Balance DVD

Learn balance exercises with the Exercise For Balance DVD

    Any older adults who take sleeping pills should get started on a course of the best balance exercises with the Exercise For Balance DVD. The healthcare provider recommended Exercise For Balance DVD is a high quality instructional DVD to use at home or in a group setting. The easy to understand and simple to follow Exercise For Balance DVD includes  a step by step series of the latest balance and strength exercises necessary to optimize senior fitness and to carry out basic daily activities like shopping, doing laundry,  walking, standing, cleaning house, stair climbing or to advance to more difficult pursuits like skiing, dancing, playing golf and hiking. In the  comprehensive Exercise For Balance DVD, you will learn how to improve stability, how to apply steadiness techniques and how to safely execute balance routines from a  qualified balance specialist --- licensed Physical Therapist---who has worked with balance and dizziness disorders for over 25 years. Get your copy of the Exercise For Balance DVD by clicking on the BUY NOW button

Be safe at night by starting balance exercises today with the Exercise For Balance DVD to improve balance and prevent falls.
For more information see http://www.mayoclinic.com/health-information/