Fall Prevention:  Older Adult Perspectives

Dr. Brian Hay Balance - Staying Stable When Things Are Changing by Longevity Explorers: Recent @ Providence

We may have laughed at the ad, “I’ve fallen and I can’t get up,” but with one third of people over the age of 65 having at least one fall a year, falling is very serious. Jerianne...

Explorer Janice seeks referrals to sources of footwear which is friendly to aging feet.

Explorer Judy introduces the group to the word 'proprioception' in the context of maintaining one's balance.

The group fields a question to start the discussion on excercise, balance, and fall prevention.

Explorer Shirley starts the discussion with the opinion that her living community needs additional grab bars near all of the toilets in the ladies' rooms.

A member of the group expresses dissatisfaction with the resources he can find to cast light on the relationship of balance to avoidance of falls. In the near future a curated resource on the topic of falls and fall avoidance will start appearing on this website.

Here is an interesting story about a man living with Parkinson's disease. Diane Loeb, LCSW, describes the ingenious method that one of her more creative clients devised to safely navigate throughout his home, preventing falls.

Good lighting is vital in areas where older adults live or spend time. Hear this topic discussed further by members of this Longevity Collective Circle.

I used to fall fairly often, including some quite nasty falls. Eventually my primary care doctor sent me to a neurologist who did a rather simple diagnostic test and decided I had a condition called Clonus. This involves some instability of the ankle and once I understood that this was at the root of many of my falling episodes, I was able to adapt my behavior and this made falling much less likely and less serious. I wish I had known to get this test done before.