Home Care Tips: Strengthening the Body to Prevent Injuries During Falls
Falls are one of the most common sources of household injuries, and also a leading cause of serious injuries, particularly among elderly adults. Each year, hundreds of thousands of seniors end up in the emergency room after falling, and for a large percentage of those, these falls are the beginning of a downward health spiral that results in dramatically reduced health, well-being, and quality of life into the future. Falling can also be a major source of concern for you and your parents’ home care provider. A fall can cause an injury that diminishes your ability to care for your parents, and if you fall while offering physical assistance or support to your parents, you can cause even more serious injuries to yourself and your loved ones.
Fall prevention is one of the most important things that you can do within your home care journey to support their ongoing health and well-being. While there are many things you can do throughout the home to lower fall risk, such as removing loose floor coverings, installing handrails and grab bars, and rearranging furniture to make paths easier, truly effective fall and injury prevention starts with your parents’ body.
Use these tips, and share them with your parents’ in home health care services provider, to strengthen your parents’ body to protect them from falling, or to help reduce instance of injury if they do happen to fall:
- Have their back. Many people believe that a strong back is the foundation of health. Each year millions of people suffer from chronic back pain, reducing their mobility and causing loss of activity. Strengthening your parents’ back improves their posture, increases their body control, gives them better balance, and helps them to “catch” themselves if they start to lose their balance or fall. A strong back also protects the spine and, reducing the chance of serious injury.
- Trust their gut. Strong abdominal muscles are also vital to creating and maintaining balance. With a strong core, your parents have less chance of falling because they are better able to control their bodies. If they do fall, a strong stomach reduces the chances of serious injury because the strong muscles surround and support the bones and support the joints.
- Strong and flexible. Range of motion and flexibility are vital when it comes to your joints, but you must also take into consideration the strength of the joints themselves. Strong joints support the bones and muscles, giving you greater body control and resisting serious damage during traumatic falls.
Try some of these ideas to make your parents’, and your, bodies stronger and healthier to help reduce the chances of a serious fall or major injuries related to these falls:
- Resistance training with light weights or even household items such as canned food or water bottles.
- Exercise methods such as Pilates that focus on conditioning that strengthen and stretch the muscles and joints.
- Conditioning exercises such as squats, arm circles, abdominal crunches, or reverse crunches for the back.
If you or an aging loved one are considering elderly care in the Denver Metro Area, please call and speak to the caring staff at Talem Home Care. Call today at (720) 797-8548.
