Falls are one of the most common and dangerous conditions in later life. Fortunately, there are a variety of exercises that you can do to help prevent falls. A recent government report showed that one in three Americans would suffer a fall at some point during their lives. Given the number of older people who fall each year, it’s no wonder! Falls are often the result of simple mistakes. For example, if you’re walking up a flight of stairs, you’ll probably look forward to reaching the top before taking a step down. But what if the first step is just too significant? You could easily trip and fall on your way down. The same applies when you’re going for a stroll or trying to perform other activities that require coordination and balance. Here we’ll look at some exercises which can help prevent senior falls.
Getting More Active as a Senior
1. Healthy Aging With Other Older Adults
The first step in preventing falls is to get older adults to get together with each other. Ideally, this should be done by forming a local senior community or senior support group. Members of these groups can share tips and tricks for staying healthy and safe. There are also online communities that can allow older adults to connect, whether they live near one another. These online communities often provide valuable resources for seniors who want to learn more about staying healthy but struggle with getting out and about. Having a community to plan active outings with can be the first step in becoming more active as an older adult!
2. Engaging in Light Exercise
Senior centers are a great resource for activities to help the aging community at assisted living homes in Austin, Tx stay active. Senior centers often offer activities such as Tai Chi, Swimming/ Water Aerobics, Dancing, and other light exercise. Around the country there are tons of senior centers, with 10 million older people making use of them every year. Senior centers can also be a great place for the elderly to make new friends!
3. Sports That Are Friendly For Seniors
If exercise isn’t something that sounds fun, Senior Friendly Sports are also an option, games such as putt putt golf, casual frisbee, or Bowling are great options. The best thing to keep in mind is that setting goals is the ideal way to go about getting more active as a senior, whether it be a friend or family member, try and create an accountability agreement about getting active together to make the task not seem so overwhelming.
Ways you Can Help your Loved One
1. Be Aware of an Older Person’s Environment
If you see an older person struggling to walk, you must get help. It’s also important to be aware of the environment in which they are walking. For example, if you see them making a turn or starting down a set of stairs, you must tell them about their surroundings and ask if they need help. If you see them on a set of stairs and they have no railing, make sure that they are aware of the danger and ask if there is anything that can be done to prevent them from falling.
2. Keep Your Balance
The next thing to look out for is whether an older person’s balance has deteriorated. This could mean that they are less able to keep their balance while moving around or standing still and performing activities such as going up and down stairs. The best way to determine whether someone’s balance has deteriorated is by getting someone else close enough so that they can check things out without making eye contact with the older person. If they can, point out any problems with balance.
Key Takeaway
Staying active as a senior is an important part of maintaining heart health as well as mobility. Even if its just taking a short walk around the block every day, or every other day, getting your heart rate up and getting some movement in can be the key to keeping your body in good shape and preventing falls and injuries that can otherwise be worse if you are completely sedentary.
Assisted Living in Austin, Tx
If you are interested in learning more about a great residential senior care home in Austin, visit our website! Here at Ruby’s home, we offer a different kind of long term care model for seniors that feels like they never left home.