Why Falls and Balance Training is Essential for Aging Adults?

Introduction:

Elderly people tend to suffer falls due to body imbalance and poor strength of limbs. All of them would like to maintain flexibility and be steady on their feet. Along with chronic illness, many conditions cause concerns of imbalance. It could be arthritis, migraine, cardiovascular disease, vision impairment, or side effects of various medications. So, it is advised for the aged people to go for balance training exercises, either to do it at home with able helping hands or to join a physiotherapy center that teaches falls and balance training exercises.

Benefits of Balance Training:

Balancing exercises help build strength and improve posture, stability, and coordination. These falls and balance training exercises make one’s limbs stronger, so one can reduce the chances of falling or bumping into stationary objects like tables, doors, chairs as well as other furniture! The tragic fall may end up causing injuries, some may be detrimental to one’s health.  Internal researchers have claimed in their study that, elderly adults who did balance exercises for a minimum of say more than 5 weeks, have enhanced their balance control and gained confidence! These exercises have helped improve movement, coordination, leg strength, and ankle mobility. Apart from physical agility, these exercises help in better mental functioning, along with memory and spatial cognition. It is recommended to go for a minimum of two to three sessions of exercise per week.

HOW TO FIND THE PERFECT BALANCE?

For an older person, there are simple falls and balance training, exercises given below to engage with little help from home folks, or one can join an exercise club

• One should know which leg is the dominant one to start the exercise with the nondominant leg. The other side will be easier next.
• One should focus one’s gaze on a fixed point straight ahead to maintain perfect balance.
• If one is worried about the balance, then better to place feet a little farther.
• Bend one’s knees slightly to prevent hyperextending and give stability.
• Distribution of weight evenly between both feet is ideal. Breathe-in and breathe-out exercises during this process help in oxygen pumped into the system.
• As one finds better balance, next is to experiment by closing one eye at a time, gazing up at the ceiling, also by trying different arm positions.

Posture exercises- Back leg raises

This exercise strengthens one’s lower back and glutes, which helps support good posture.

1. Place hands on a wall or the back of a chair.
2. Shift one’s weight onto your right foot.
3. Slowly lift the left leg back and up as high as one can.
4. Should hold this position for 5 seconds.
5. Return to the starting position.
6. Should continue doing 10 repetitions.
7. Then go for the opposite side.

By these simple falls and balance training exercises, one can improve one’s balance and posture.

Regular breaks of 10 minutes between 20 minutes of falls and balance training, and exercise are advised. One should sit down and drink plenty of water. The stomach should be filled, should not attempt any exercises on an empty stomach! Here, one will feel better and grounded, if there are concerns with feeling dizzy or light-headed.

Some of the Exercises to try with house help for falls and balance training. One can do these exercises while wearing shoes or bare foot. Shoes give firmer grip and stability. For some of them, barefoot can help strengthen the muscles that stabilize the feet. Using a yoga mat is ideal, as there are chances of slipping. The house help has to ensure that there is no chanceless fall during the falls and balance training exercises.