Saturday, January 19, 2013

Falls Prevention For Older Adults

Senior Balance Exercises Assist With Fall Prevention

By Suzanne Stoke, Physical Therapist @ Exercise For Balance via www.exerciseforbalance.com/ Senior balance exercises  have been found by medical researchers to be very effective in preventing falls among the elderly. Since falling is such an extremely common and costly experience with older adults, the healthcare system has been focusing on how to assess and manage and prevent falls. Please see   http://www.exerciseforbalance.com/buy-now Doctors, nurses, physical therapists, home care aides and all other health professionals are hugely concerned about keeping our older population on their feet and functioning at their maximal quality of life for as long as possible. Unfortunately, falls definitely disrupt the apple cart and lead to expensive and debilitating injuries like hip and wrist and shoulder fractures. Statistics tell us that one in three seniors fall every year, which leads to substantial loss of mobility, independence and quality of life. Medical professionals strive to understand the mechanisms of falling and means to reduce the incidence of a fall.

Senior Balance Exercises Are Important For Fall Prevention

Senior balance exercises are a part of the plan to reduce falling in geriatric patients. Recently, medical researchers have studied how to assess and manage falls in older adults. Waldron N, Hill AM, Barker A. in their report, Falls prevention in older adults - Assessment and management, investigated the role of senior balance exercises to diminish the risk and incidence of falling. They described that falls in older people are a major concern in terms of disability, institutionalisation, mortality and socioeconomic burden. An Australian study found 8% of women aged in their 40s, 14% in their 50s, 25% in their 60s and 40% in their 70s had experienced a fall in the previous 12 months. In older adults, up to 30% of falls can result in moderate to severe injuries, such as lacerations, hip fractures and head trauma, resulting in an increased risk of early death. A fall may lead to a fear of falling, avoidance of daily activities, social isolation, lowered quality of life and can precipitate a move to residential aged care. They concluded that for older adults in the community, balance exercise programs and vitamin D supplementation in those with deficiency are highly effective in preventing falls. Psychoactive drug withdrawal, home visits, vision optimisation and a multifactorial approach are also effective. In residential aged care, routine vitamin D supplementation is highly effective in preventing falls and fractures. General practitioners are well placed to identify those at risk of falls and implement prevention strategies utilising other healthcare professionals as required. The general practitioner's role in educating and supporting patient behaviour change is critical to the uptake of falls prevention recommendations.  

senior balance exercisesBalance Exercises In The Exercise For Balance DVD

    To Learn the best balance exercises for fall prevention, get the Exercise For Balance DVD. The Balance DVD can easily be used at home or in a group setting. The DVD contains instruction on the best balance and strength exercises needed to prevent falls and to perform basic activities like walking, standing, stair climbing or to advance to high level activities like dancing and hiking. In the Balance DVD, you will learn at your own pace how to improve balance, balance techniques and balance routines from a licensed Physical Therapist who is an expert in the field of balance and has worked with balance and dizziness disorders for over 20 years. Get your copy of the Exercise For Balance DVD by clicking on the BUY NOW button

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