Fall prevention: it’s one of the lead aspects of healthy aging, given that senior falls are one of the top reasons for major injury and even loss of life in older adults. At Live Free Home Health Care, we work tirelessly to ensure the home environment is free of fall dangers and that necessary alterations are made to help the older adults in our care stay safe from senior falls.
However, there are some additional actions all older adults need to take to lower their risk of senior falls – most notably, stepping up their physical exercise routine to incorporate some key strengthening and balance exercises that have been shown in a recent study by the British Journal of Sports Medicine to decrease falls by around 21 – 39%, based upon how much time is invested. Just three hours every week dedicated to the activities below can make a big improvement in the health and wellbeing of your senior loved ones:
- Chair Lift: While seated in a sturdy chair with arms, grasp the arms and lift the body up, making use of the lower body muscles as little as possible and using upper arm strength. Stay in the position, and then carefully lower back to a seated position. Repeat ten times.
- Forward Lunge: Stand straight with feet in line with the hips. Grip onto a durable chair placed to one side of the body, and then step forward with one foot, attempting to keep the rest of the body straight and tall. Bend the leg in front until the knee in the back is as near to the ground as possible. Then utilize the front leg to push the body back up to a standing position. Repeat 10 times with alternate legs.
- Leg Raise: From a sitting position, extend one leg straight out in front of you, and then bend the knee and bring it to your chest, without moving the upper body. Stretch the leg back out straight again, and then bring the foot back to the ground. Repeat 10 times with both legs, and if possible, try with both legs at the same time.
- Weight Lift and Bend: With a sturdy chair beside you for balance, and a two-pound weight in the opposite hand, bend forward at the waistline, bend the arm holding the weight up to your chest (with the elbow kept at waist level) and then extend the forearm behind you before returning the weight back to your waist. Repeat ten times with each arm, increasing weight if desired.
- Toe Touch: Standing up with feet placed together, gently and carefully roll your upper body down to your toes, reaching downward with the fingertips, as far as possible comfortably. Keep legs straight throughout the bend. Slowly and gently roll the upper body back up to a standing position, and repeat ten times.
For further fall prevention guidelines and exercises, or to arrange for an in-home evaluation of your senior loved one’s home to lessen the risk of senior falls, contact Live Free Home Health Care, a provider of the top-rated Bristol home health services for the surrounding areas, by calling us any time at 603-217-0149. Visit our Service Area page for a full list of the communities we serve.