Understanding Your Fall Risk

It’s important that every older adult understand their fall risk. Everyone’s risk is different; falls are complex, and multiple factors can contribute to a high risk of falling. The more risk factors you have, the more likely you are to suffer a fall.

Which of these factors apply to you?

• You’re 65 years or older.
• You’ve fallen before.
• You’re sedentary.
• You have certain medical conditions, such as arthritis, diabetes, or vascular disease.
• You’ve suffered a stroke.
• You have impaired mobility.
• You have impaired vision.

What’s Involved in a Fall Prevention Plan?

Getting active is one of the best things you can do to reduce your risk of falling. This is why the fear of falling can be so insidious, as it prevents people from engaging in the physical activity that can protect them from falls.

For that reason, a good fall prevention plan is actually a plan to help you get more active. We’ll work with you to identify the areas holding you back from a physically active lifestyle–whether that’s pain, instability, or something else–and address them. 

Because we customize every fall prevention plan to suit the patient’s needs, no two plans are alike. However, we’ll generally pull from the following techniques:

• Pain Management: If persistent or chronic pain is holding you back, we can help address pain through manual therapy, gentle exercise, or pain-relieving modalities.
• Balance Training: The cornerstone of any fall prevention plan, balance training consists of specialized exercises that challenge your balance. We’ll increase the difficulty as you improve, ensuring you see results.
• Strength Training: Weak muscles, especially core muscles, are a significant source of instability. We’ll show you appropriate strength training exercises that will help improve your balance while standing and walking–and make it easier for you to recover from a momentary loss in balance.
• Gait Training: Your gait refers to your walking pattern, and you’re more likely to fall if it’s impaired. We’ll help correct gait issues so you can walk with confidence.
• Exercise Program: Once you’ve worked through our fall prevention plan, we’ll help you develop an exercise program, such as Tai Chi or a walking regime, to get you moving when you’re not in the clinic.

What To Expect During Your Sessions

Your initial appointment will consist of an in-depth physical evaluation that includes the following:

• A complete health history
• Examination of your particular fall risk factors
• Movement screens to evaluate gait, mobility, strength, and balance
• Discussion of your specific goals

This information helps us create the best fall prevention plan for your needs, which we’ll guide you through during subsequent appointments. We provide a space where you can exercise without fear of injury. We also always meet you at your current ability level–although we will help you improve by gradually increasing the difficulty of your exercises!