Reduce Fear With Senior Balance Exercises

Senior Balance Exercises Improve Stability

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

   One of the best ways to decrease the fear of falling is to practice senior balance exercises which will enhance your steadiness. Please see more information at   http://www.exerciseforbalance.com/buy-now Having a fall is one of the worst things that can happen to those folks in the older generation. Not only is injury possible but falls have the potential to cause a significant change in the quality of our lives. A fall can lead to a severe injury like a head injury, hip fracture, wrist fracture or skin abrasions. Furthermore, we all know examples of aging folks who have fallen and hurt themselves. For instance, I recently had a patient tell me about a loved one who fell over backwards while looking up at the sky as a unique plane flew overhead. She broke her hip which required surgery that she recovered from rather slowly. However, sadly to say the shock of the fall set this precious older lady into full blown dementia which necessitated full care for the rest of her life. Because falls often happen suddenly, we surmise that there is little we can do to prevent them from happening. Let me tell you--nothing is further from the truth. There are literally thousands of things you can do to reduce the likelihood of having the fall in the first place. You can reduce your fall associated risk which in turn will directly lower your chance of having a fall. To be specific, fear of falling is such a potent experience that it actually causes people to fall more. If you are afraid of falling, do something to make it less likely to happen. The very best way to do that is to improve your balance by performing certain senior balance exercises on a regular basis.

Senior Balance Exercises To Prevent Falls

     In recent years, medical professionals like doctors, physician assistants and physical therapists have recommended to older adults to practice senior balance exercises to reduce their possibility of a fall. Medical providers as well as medical scientists have come to believe that older adults who participate in stability programs including proprioceptive techniques have greater steadiness with all movement activities.  Proprioception is the body's ability to determine where we are in space and how we are moving by the sensory feedback in every joint, muscle, ligament and tendon in the body. Martínez-Amat A, Hita-Contreras F, in their report, EFFECTS OF 12-WEEK PROPRIOCEPTION TRAINING PROGRAM ON POSTURAL STABILITY, GAIT AND BALANCE IN OLDER ADULTS, looked at balance exercises as a way to reduce falls in seniors. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect of a 12-week specific proprioceptive training program on postural stability, gait, balance and fall prevention in adults over 65 years old. The researchers found  that the training program improved postural balance of older adults in medio-lateral plane with eyes open and anterior-posterior plane with eyes closed . After proprioception training, gait (Tinetti) and balance (Berg) tests scores improved 14.66% and 11.47% respectively. These results show that 12 weeks proprioception training program in older adults is effective in postural stability, static and dynamic balance, and could lead to an improvement in gait and balance capacity, as well as to a decrease in the risk of falling in adults aged 65 years and older. You can practice senior balance exercises in the comfort of your own home by following along with the Exercise For Balance DVD.

Senior Balance Exercises In The Exercise For Balance DVD

Learn balance exercises with the Exercise For Balance DVD

    Older adults 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

Begin 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/