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I designed a 3-hour educational and demonstrative fall prevention workshop for older adults who have fallen or are concerned about falling. Through a Kaiser grant, I am able to present 6 workshops to different communities in the Sacramento region. The maximum number of participants per workshop is 25 and each workshop has been full. In fact, we had to turn away an entire group of 25 older adults at the Belle Cooledge Community Center in South Sacramento. The message: older adults are concerned about falls.
Falls are accidents and accidents happen. No matter what age you are, I”m sure remember a time when you tripped, slipped and fell, weren’t paying attention and took a spill, or lost your footing and ended up on the ground. Falls happen quickly but the consequences can last a lifetime. Bruises are slow to heal, sprains and strains are slow to heal and broken bones even slower. Sometimes our ego never recovers from a fall. Older adults are likely to get caught in the cycle of fear and that leads to isolation, depression, weakness and an increased risk of another fall.
Community-based older adults need hope. They need to learn how they can break the cycle of fear and thrive in their life. There are many ways to reduce the risk of a fall. Exercise is the number one way to minimize this risk because the body must be able to react to life’s imbalances. Safety proofing your environment is also recommended. Monitoring your medications and being aware of the side effects of each medication will help reduce the risk of an unnecessary accident and eating a healthy diet gives your body the nutrients you need to remain strong and able.
My workshop offers these adults hope. I demonstrate proper form as we move through seated exercises. I verbally cue adults through balance challenges and I instruct how to do strength building exercises with the resistance band given as part of the workshop. Because there is so much information covered, I offer picture cards and helpful literature. MY hope is that Kaiser will fund another series of workshops. In fact, I need to get out in the community and teach regular classes……or maybe a Cable TV show…..!
Take 5 to Exercise and stay tuned for more……
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