We all Fall

We all fall

How to make the best of gravity and learn how to have the strength, mobility, and confidence to get up off the ground again.

Falls are natural part of life, especially as we age. While they can feel scary, they don’t have to be catastrophic. The good news is that with the right strategies, we can prepare ourselves to safely recover from a fall, potentially minimize the risk of injury, and even improve our strength, mobility, and confidence in the process.

In this brief article, will explore the importance of fall prevention for seniors, and how building the strength and mobility to get up off the ground with confidence can make a huge difference in maintaining your independence and quality of life. Of course, we always have to remember that we cannot prevent all fall. After all, the title of this blog is, we all falls!

Understanding the Potential for Fall Risk in our Older Adults

As we age, our bones tend to become more fragile(osteoporosis/osteopenia), muscles weaken (sarcopenia), and balance becomes more challenging for a host of other reasons as well beyond the scope of this short article. But, not all falls have to lead to serious injuries. Many falls may be preventable with proper strength, training, exercise, balance, training, and working on our fear of falling and bodies being out of control. More importantly, knowing how to recover from a fall is just as crucial.

Making the Best of Gravity: Why Fall Training is Important

When we talk about falling, we often make the mistake of just focusing on preventing the fall itself. One could argue that it’s equally or even more important to focus on what happens afterward. Learning how to get up safe safely and confidently is a skill that can make a world of difference.

Imagine this: you have a fall, but you don’t panic. You know exactly what to do. You’ve trained your body and mind to move through the fall recovery process calmly and efficiently. You’ve built in your legs, core, and arms gives you the ability to push yourself up without fear of injury. This kind of preparation can give you the confidence to keep going in life, without the constant worry and stress of the possibility of a fall.

Strength, Mobility, and Confidence: The key areas to work on

Hello are the three essential components for building the physical foundation that allows you to confidently get up after a fall.

Strength

Building strength in your legs, core, and arm/shoulders is the first line of defense against falling and help you recover quickly if/when you do. Strong legs and core allow you to push up from a seated or lying position, while strong arms help you push off the ground and facilitate the transition from the floor/ground to standing back on your feet again.

How:

Some exercises that can help with the above include bridges, squats/sit to stand, step ups from various heights, various types of lunges, step downs from various heights, deadlifts, heel raises, as well as basic standing, pushing and pulling activities that strengthen your upper body, including your core.

Mobility

Having good mobility is about being able to move freely and with ease. As we age, our joints and soft tissue/connective tissue tends to become stiffer and less flexible, which can make it more difficult to get up off the floor. Stretching and joint mobility exercise exercises are crucial for maintaining your body is normal range of motion.

How

There are many ways to gain mobility, so it’s important to find activities that you like to do that you will stick with. This can include various types of yoga, tai chi, Pilates, or just general, moving the body and joints through their full range of motion every day and even adding load to that. Often our body is stiff and tight, not just because of physiologically getting older, but because our muscles are weak and are nervous system shuts down the ability for muscles to use what they have. You can think of your nervous system as the brakes and defenders of your body by protecting you at all times unless you give it the reason to give it more of a leash. So in other words, get stronger and your nervous system will allow you to use your bodies full potential.

Confidence

The fear of falling can sometimes be more limiting than the fall itself. Fear can literally prevent you from moving freely and confidently, which can lead one down a vicious cycle of a increased frailty and even more decreased activity. Overcoming this fear is often the key your independence and enjoying life to its full capacity.

How

Practice fall recovery - Start by practicing how to get up off the floor in a safe and controlled environment. You can practice by gently lowering yourself to the ground and using your arms and legs to push back up. This helps you become more comfortable with the activity of being on the ground. It’s kind of interesting knowing that every single one of us learned to crawl and has a toddler spent countless hours on the ground playing.

Balance training -Working on your balance/reflexes/agility/coordination is a very effective way to build confidence in your body in many conditions. This goes way beyond just standing on one leg or standing in a tandem stance as if we are in a field sobriety test. This is where one can have fun playing games such as pickle ball, gently kicking a soccer ball around the yard, or throwing a tennis ball and catching it off the wall. Their countless ways to do this and it’s best to find the activity that suits your personality.

Mindfulness and breathing exercises. A calm mind is essential when recovering from a fall. Deep breathing exercise exercises and practicing mindfulness can help you stay grounded, reducing the panic that can sometimes come with being on the ground/having a fall, and having the resources to get up on your own. No pun intended on using grounded and ground in the same sentence :-)

Simple Steps to Get Back Up After a Fall

If you do find yourself on the floor, there are several steps you can take to safely return back to standing.

Stay calm:

Take a few deep breaths to assess your situation. If you’re in pain or ensure about any potential injury, wait a bit to make sure you’re OK and call for help if you need it.

Roll to your side:

Slowly roll onto your side and push yourself up onto your hands and knees. This will help take the pressure off your body and help you get in a better position to stand.

Use your hands for support as needed:

If needed, place your hands on a stable surface, such as a chair, couch, or something else to help facilitate the next step.

Half Kneeling:

So, your hands are on a solid surface and you are in a kneeling position. Shift your weight to one knee and slide the opposite foot and leg forward so you are now in a half kneeling position. This does require a modicum of hip and knee and ankle mobility as well as strength. Hence, why working on strength and mobility in your lower extremities is key to making this more ideal.

Push up:

Take a big inhale and then exhale and push through your legs and hands and come to a stand. The back leg is not just sitting there for fun, make sure to try to push off the ball of your back foot. This is certainly easier if you have good mobility and strength in your first MTP joint/big toe joint.

Once standing:

Once you are standing, it might be a good idea to find a chair to sit or a table to lean on just to make sure that you don’t suddenly get dizzy from the quick rise back up to standing. Some people have various negative reactions to sudden gravity shifts, including orthostatic hypotension as well as BPPV (which can happen with sudden quick head movements)… so if you’re feeling lightheaded, get to a chair fast.

Conclusion:

So to summarize, we all fall. It is a part of life, but it doesn’t have to be a source of overt fear or injury. By focusing on improving strength and mobility, you can have the confidence knowing you can get back up again. Remember, falling isn’t the end. It’s just an opportunity to grow stronger, more mobile, improve resilience and learn from your mistakes.

So, take the time to work on your strength, balance, and mobility and find time to work on practicing fall recovery strategies. If you need help learning, there are available resources out there to work with you on these valuable life skills.

I’m one of those sources and my work is MUCH better than my writing skills!