Fall Prevention Tips and Programs Help Seniors Avoid Falls

Home Helpers Senior Care in Wheaton and Naperville, IL: Fall Prevention Tips For Your Loved Ones

When I wrote about fall prevention last year, I told you about one of our clients who is a sophisticated retired schoolteacher in her mid-80s with serious back problems that resulted from four auto accidents. The woman retired from driving because her daughter was losing sleep at night worrying about her Mom’s safety and the safety of others on the road.

Unfortunately, since last year, she has fallen multiple times which has caused more pain in her back and a new knee.

September is Falls Prevention Month, and September 23-27, 2024, is Falls Prevention Awareness Week, nationwide observances that raise awareness about preventing falls, reducing the risk of falls, and helping older adults live without fears of falling.

Falls among older adults continue to be a national public health concern. Falls put older adults at risk of significant injury or even death.

According to the National Institute on Aging (NIA), every 11 seconds, an older adult is seen in an emergency department for a fall-related injury, and one in four Americans aged 65 and older falls every year. Being common does not mean that falling is a normal part of aging. Many of these falls are preventable and everyone needs to be aware of safety precautions to prevent falls among older adults.

The NIA suggests the following fall prevention tips:

• Stay physically active.
• Try balance and strength training exercises.
• Have your eyes and hearing tested.
• Find out about the side effects of any medicines you take.
• Get plenty of sleep.
• Avoid or limit alcohol.
• Stand up slowly.
• Fall-proof your home.

Because staying physically active and practicing balance and strength training exercises top the tips list, I found interactive Fall Prevention Programs for seniors at AgeOptions, a social services organization in Oak Park, whose mission is to innovate, partner, and advocate to improve systems and services in order to strengthen communities so people thrive as they age.

“Offered through the Illinois Pathways to Health Initiative, the Fall Prevention Programs help people feel stronger, improve their balance, and reduce their fear of falling. Participants learn to set realistic goals to increase activity, how to build strength, and ways to modify their environment to reduce the risk of falls,” AgeOptions explains.

The following Fall Prevention Programs take place in local communities and online throughout the year:

• A Matter of Balance – This workshop is designed for older adults to manage falls and increase activity levels. Participants demonstrate improved balance, flexibility, and strength while viewing falls as controllable.
• Bingocize® – This program is designed for sedentary adults at all ability levels. Bingocize® combines a bingo-like game with exercise and health education and has shown to increase seniors’ functional fitness, health knowledge, and social engagement.
• Fit and Strong! – This workshop is for sedentary seniors who are experiencing lower extremity joint pain, stiffness, and other mobility issues. The program uses flexibility and strength training, aerobic walking, and health education to promote behavior change in people with osteoarthritis.
• Tai Chi for Arthritis and Fall Prevention – This workshop is for older adults with or without arthritis, rheumatic disease, or related musculoskeletal conditions. It works for seniors with mild, moderate, and severe joint involvement and back pain, and those without arthritis who may have a higher risk of falling. Tai Chi is an enjoyable exercise that can improve balance, relieve pain, and improve health and the ability to do things. It is a slow, easy-to-learn exercise that is good for all ability levels. The essential principles of Tai Chi include mind and body integration, fluid movements, controlled breathing, and mental concentration. Tai Chi is one of the most effective exercises for the health of the mind and body. It helps people relax and feel better.
• Walk with Ease – This program is for seniors with arthritis who want to be more physically active. It is also good for aging adults without arthritis, particularly those with diabetes, heart disease, and other chronic conditions who want to become more active. Demonstrated to reduce pain, increase balance and strength, and improve overall health, the program will help motivate seniors to get in great shape and allow them to walk safely and comfortably.

I strongly encourage seniors to adhere to the NIA fall prevention tips, learn more about the Fall Prevention Programs at AgeOptions, and participate in the in-person sessions or online Zoom workshops.     

A compassionate Home Helpers® caregiver can help with transportation or technology assistance for these programs, and they can provide exceptional support to you or a senior loved one who is at greater risk of falling due to physical or mental health conditions

We Offer Comprehensive Senior Care Services

My senior care team is highly trained and skilled to perform an array of in-home care services, including specialized care for clients with Alzheimer’s and dementia, and 24-hour shift care. For seniors living alone, Home Helpers offers a state-of-the-art 24-monitoring service called Direct Link® so human help is instantly available at the touch of a button.

I am happy to sit down with you or your senior loved one for a FREE senior care Consultation and home safety check to assess specific needs and discuss the many ways Home Helpers® can make life easier and safer every day.

Home Helpers® Wheaton & Naperville is proudly Making Life Easier℠ for veterans, differently-abled, and senior men and women in Aurora, Bartlett, Bloomingdale, Hanover Park, Hoffman Estate, Roselle, Itasca, Medinah, Naperville, Plainfield, Schaumburg, Warrenville, West Chicago, Wheaton, and Winfield.

Sources:

National Institute on Aging

AgeOptions