I wanted to talk about fall prevention because it is so incredibly important and the statistics are quite frankly, disturbing...yet, preventable.
Falls are the leading cause of fatal and non-fatal injuries in older adults. Falling is NOT an inevitable result of aging. There are lots of fall prevention exercise classes on the internet, both on websites and YouTube, and falls could be substantially reduced if people started to exercise more to gain strength.
Statistics:
-1 in 4 over the age of 65 falls each year
-every 11 seconds, an older adult is treated in ER for a fall
-every 19 minutes, an older adult dies from a fall
Do you limit your physical and social activities because you are afraid of falling? Limiting your activities can result in further physical decline, depression and social isolation. If this is you, you CAN make a change and you CAN reduce your chances of falling. Exercises can be done in a chair or standing. You'll find lots of exercise classes on this website that will help you become stronger. Find the class that suits your current fitness level best and if you keep it up, you WILL become stronger and you WILL reduce your chance of falling. As you get stronger, you can do more challenging classes to keep challenging your muscles to become a stronger you. It doesn't matter how old you are now...you can start getting stronger at any age. Our bodies are meant to move and meant to be strong but we do have to work at it to stay strong. You only have one body and it's crucial to take care of it because you don't get another one. Honestly, you CAN do this! Start slowly and just keep going...you've got this!