Published in the February 3-16, 2016 issue of Morgan Hill Life

By Dorene O’Malley

Dorene O'Malley

Dorene O’Malley

According to the Centers for Disease Control, one in three adults older than 65 falls every year, with many sustaining serious injuries such as a broken hip or head trauma. Falls are also the leading reason for emergency room injury visits by adults ages 45 to 64.

If you have a fear of falling it may be due to poor balance. If this is the case you will tend to shorten your stride (as walking requires the ability to balance on one leg), which then leads to a shuffling of the feet. The more you shuffle, the less the foot moves at the toe and ankle joints and the more likely you are to trip. So excessive tentativeness can actually lead to an increase in the risk of falling because you tend to cut down on activity, which then makes the balance, strength and reflexes worse. Sort of a Catch-22.

The good news is that we can take easy measures to protect ourselves from falling by integrating balance, strength and flexibility work into our daily lives.

Start with alignment and balance.

Think of your body as blocks — if you want to build a tower of blocks they need to be stacked from the bottom up, and if one of the blocks juts out the tower runs the risk of toppling over. To line up your tower find a mirror and stand looking at your side view (if you don’t have a mirror ask a friend to help you out) place your feet pelvis width (not wider) apart and keep your weight over your heels so your toes are free to wiggle. With legs straight, line knees up over your ankles, center the pelvis over your knees, rib cage (torso) over the hips and the ear in line with the shoulder.
If any of your “blocks” don’t line up and you have difficulty getting them to do so, you may need some flexibility and strength work before hand. But if you have found the proper alignment — you can begin to work on balance.

Stand on two feet with your weight on your heels and a wall or chair nearby as needed. Close your eyes. If you feel wobbly, your internal proprioceptors need some practice. Practice this daily until you no longer feel wobbly.

Single leg stance — if you have mastered standing on two legs with your eyes closed, move on to standing on one leg with the eyes open. Do both sides. Once you can stand there solidly for one minute, try to do it with the eyes closed and work up until one minute again.

Once you have mastered the above, move on to further balance challenges by trying the above exercises on Bosu balls or balance boards.

Walk heel to toe. Do this using only your eyes to look down. If you drop the head and neck wile you walk, you have taken one of the “blocks” out of alignment and since your head weighs 8 to 10 pounds it can easily pull you forward and assist in loss of balance.

Incorporate strength work into your day:

As you get up and down into chairs many times during the day, do it without the assistance of your arms and upper body. Walking requires strength in the hips and buttocks so use them as often as possible during the day.

If you cannot do this at first, find a specific chair to use and add more cushions or pillows to make the seat higher. Find a height that allows you to do the movement going down and getting back up. As you get stronger, reduce the amount of pillows until you find that you can do it at normal height.

Other ways to keep you on your feet:

• Be mindful of what you are doing.
• Leave multitasking to others.
• Keep your head level and use only the eyes to look down. Your head is heavy and can easily pull you off balance.
• Check your medications with your doctor. Blood pressure medications and antidepressants can directly affect balance.
• Wear sensible shoes.
• Use handrails when available.

As we are living longer, fall prevention is becoming as necessary as heart attack prevention. Many hospitals, clinics and fitness facilities are adding balance programs to their schedules. If you feel you are off balance way too often for comfort and need more than the above tips can provide, know that there are other options available. Avoiding daily life activities shouldn’t be the only choice you have.

Dorene O’Malley is the owner and a certified instructor at CoreHealth Method — Pilates & Corrective Movement in. She wrote this for Morgan Hill Life.