Preventing Falls and Fractures in Seniors and Older Adults
Preventing Falls and Fractures in Seniors and Older Adults
Hi everyone, this is Evan Sitzman, coach at Strength School in Martinsville. We have a very popular exercise program for older adults, and over the past four years at Strength School, I've worked with several hundred clients in their 60s, 70s, and 80s. Today I want to share some important information for all older adults, especially about preventing falls and other accidents that can lead to serious injuries such as broken hips and other fractures.
If you are not an older adult yourself, you probably have parents or grandparents who are, and they could really benefit from some of this info.
Let's start with a few simple questions -
#1 - Can you get up off the ground on your best day?
#2 - How about on your worst day?
If you can do these life altering tasks, you must maintain your strength. If you cannot perform these tasks, you (we) have work to do!
Older Adult Falls Cost Billions per Year
The average hospital cost is almost $35,000 per fall.
Cost each year of non-fatal falls: $50 billion
Cost each year of fatal falls: $754 million
Falls account for 87% of all fractures among people ages 65 and older.
Falls are the leading cause of death from injury among people 65 and older.
A 1/4th of seniors who fracture a hip will die within 6 months of the injury.
What Causes Falls in Seniors and the Elderly?
Now, there are certain factors that dramatically raise your (or your relative's) chances of falling:
Lower body weakness
Vitamin D deficiency
Difficulties with walking and balance (strength and coordination)
Use of medication (tranquilizers, sedatives, antidepressants, and other over the counter medications)
Vision problems
Foot pain or poor footwear (Wear proper shoes...a.k.a. no moon boots. Get those feet stronger. There is no current research showing that orthotics have long-term positive effects.)
Strength Training to Prevent Falls in Seniors and Older Adults
How do we prevent becoming some of these statistics? With safe and effective strength training.
Training the whole body while fixing specific joint issues along the way is the single best way for weakness/injury prevention.
Muscle contractions allow your body to perform work and burn calories. We need to balance the yin and yang as much as possible with each joint.
Lifting heavy weights will allow you to gain strength and muscle at a rapid rate. The issue is that not everyone is fit enough to handle heavy weights. Therefore, we may need to use light weights at first in order to get the body used to moving through pain free range of motion in as many joints as possible.
Aerobic training (swimming, jogging, bicycling) is excellent for the cardiovascular system, but it does not train the anaerobic system (heavy/fast exercises that do not require oxygen to be performed). The biggest drawback of doing aerobic training alone is that there is not enough structural stress to cause the positive stress/growth that anaerobic training (lifting weights) can. Lifting weights also can supply great cardiovascular benefits to the individual (muscular contractions require work to operate). We can do this by simply doing longer duration exercises.
Improving Quality of Life for Older Adults and Seniors
The health-related quality of life you desire is absolutely obtainable if you choose to do something about it. Find someone in your local area that you trust and who has the skills to assist you. No one is going to do it for you.
If you or someone you know has issues with anything mentioned before, you are now aware of some of the potential risks of being fragile, as well as the cost that comes with it. If this message hits home for you and you decide you want to make a change, then I have done my job for the day…and I love my job.
-Evan
P.S. I am hosting a workshop on exercising for a high quality-of-life for older adults at the Martinsville gym on Saturday, March 28th. Please reply to this email or speak with me in the gym for more information.
Martinsville gym: 765-341-0512
165 Morton Avenue, Martinsville, IN 46151
Southside Indianapolis gym: 317-746-9118
5545 South Meridian Street, Indianapolis, IN 46217