November is Fall Prevention Month

Every year, 1 in 3 Alberta seniors will fall.

Take action to reduce your risk.

Falls are the leading cause of injury among older adults. The older we get, the greater the risk of falling becomes. Our bodies naturally change with age, and these changes affect the way we feel, move, and behave. 

• Older adults with muscle weakness are 4-5 times more likely to fall.
• Try to do 30 minutes or more of physical activity at least 5 days each week.
• Walking, dancing, Tai Chi, and cross-country skiing are a few great ways to be active.
  

A fall can have a devastating and lasting impact on an individual resulting in injury, chronic pain and a reduced quality of life. Even without an injury, a fall can cause a loss in confidence and a reduction in activities for older adults.

• Older adults with low vision are 2.5 times more likely to fall.
  
• A comprehensive eye exam will test your vision and look for issues like glaucoma and cataracts.
  
• Alberta Health Care covers the cost of eye exams for adults 65 and older.
  

Some medications can also put you at risk of a fall.

• Seniors taking more than 3 - 4 medications are at a higher risk of falls.
  
• Some prescriptions, over-the-counter medications, vitamins, and herbal supplements can increase your risk of falling.
  

These actions can help you prevent a fall and stay independent:

• Learn more about how to lower your fall risk to prevent yourself from falling or falling again.
• Talk with a physiotherapist to get the best walking aid for your needs.
• Exercise to improve your strength and balance.
• Talk with a physiotherapist or our PCN Exercise Specialist about exercise to improve your balance.
• Talk to your health care provider if you are worried about falling, especially if it stops you from being active.
• Do 30 minutes of physical activity five days a week strengthening your muscles can reduce your risk of falling - our PCN Exercise Specialist can provide guidance and exercise routines.
• Keep active to improve strength and balance. 
• Talk with your doctor or health care provider about managing the need to rush to the toilet. Rushing could increase your risk of a fall. 
• Talk to your podiatrist or doctor if you have numbness in your feet; numbness can cause a fall.
• Review your medications, vitamins, and supplements with your pharmacist or doctor yearly or if  your prescription changes or new medications are added. 
• Talk to your doctor or pharmacist about medication side effects or causes of light-headedness. Sometimes an adjustment of dosage or type of medication can help.
• Are you sad or have concerns about anxiety or depression? Talk to your health care provider or doctor about how you are feeling.
• Visit an eye doctor yearly to check your eye health. Poor vision or a change in vision can increase the risk of a fall.
• Wear proper shoes, especially outside. Take extra care when walking on snow or ice-covered sidewalks or parking lots. Learn the "Penguin Walk".

Take this online assessment quiz to see if you are at risk of a fall.

Health care providers can print paper copies of this quiz, here.

Learn more at https://www.fallpreventionmonth.ca/

November is Falls Prevention Month

Stay Independent. Prevent Falls.

2017 marks the 10th annual Finding Balance Falls Prevention campaign.

“Check Your Vision” Week focuses on creating awareness around seniors’ eye health, vision care, and the steps they can take to reduce falls due to changes in their vision. Plan activities to encourage seniors to have their eyes checked by an optometrist or ophthalmologist yearly.

November is Falls Prevention Month

Stay Independent. Prevent Falls.

2017 marks the 10th annual Finding Balance Falls Prevention campaign.

During November 8-14, the campaign will focus it's key messaging on Keep Active:

Keep Active

As you age, it is important to keep active to improve your strength and balance.

Benefits of physical activity

• Keeps bones and muscles healthy and strong
• Improves your balance
• keeps your heart and lungs healthy
• Increases your energy
• Helps you sleep
• Reduces your fear of falling
• Helps reduce the risk of chronic diseases like heart disease and high blood pressure
• Improves memory and attention
• Improves mood and sense of well-being

Suggestions

• Try to do 30 minutes or more of moderate to vigorous physical activity at least 5 days each week.
  • Moderate intensity: you will sweat and breathe harder
  • Vigorous intensity: you will sweat and be out of breath
• If you are just getting started, build up slowly and add a few minutes each day
• Include activities that strengthen both arm and leg muscles
• For strength try wall push-ups, stair climbing or exercises with weights or bands.
• For balance, try standing exercises, Tai Chi
• For endurance, try walking, gardening, dancing, cross-country skiing, or swimming
• For flexibility, try stretching, yoga, or Tai Chi

 
 

Finding Balance activity challenge

SENIORS' KEEP ACTIVE CHALLENGE

November 1-30, 2015

We want to help seniors keep active! Join us as we travel across Alberta. Choose where you want to go and then start your journey! Any physical activity will count towards the trip. Keep track of how many steps you take or how many minutes of physical activity you do each day. Add these into the UWALK website to see how far you go by the end of November. If you belong to a senior’s centre or recreation program, you join as a group to travel together. Groups can order a map to track your group’s progress.

The Seniors’ Keep Active Challenge is sponsored by UWALK. Register on the UWALK website and then join the Challenge. You can join the Challenge starting October 26, 2015.

Join the Challenge! Click here to register.

Get your free Finding Balance pedometer at the Leduc Beaumont Devon Primary Care Network (while supplies last).

Pole Walking – is it beneficial ?

It’s becoming a common sight to see people out for a walk using walking poles. This trend is becoming more popular not just in Alberta, but across the country as well. “Nordic Pole Walking” (pole walking) was originally created in Finland in the early 1990s as a way for cross-country skiers to train during the summer months.  It was introduced as a low-impact form of exercise that involves walking with a pair of customized poles, similar to ski poles. The activity exploded across Europe in the 1990s and has grown to the point where more than 20% of Finns and about 10-15 million Germans now regularly pole walk. It is a well known fact that Europeans, as a whole, tend to lead more active lifestyles overall than North Americans. They have the right idea when it comes to making activity part of the daily routine! 

Pole Walking is a low impact form of exercise that can offer benefits for improved health and wellness as well as improved overall condition for people of all different levels of fitness.  It is becoming popular in the senior population and even hospitals and rehabilitation clinics are promoting the use of walking poles as a way for people to not only improve their cardiovascular health but to also improve their balance, posture and core strength.  Walking, of course, has long been known to be an excellent form of aerobic exercise on its own with easy access for most of the population.  Now, with adding in the use of the poles, it engages even more muscles groups in the whole body and gives a sense of security for those who are concerned about balance and fall prevention.

There are different forms of walking poles that are suitable for different people and purposes.  There are walking poles specifically designed for those who want to improve their fitness level and increase endurance and overall strength.  By engaging more muscles in the body, more energy is required when using the poles and this can improve cardiovascular fitness and strength.  

There also are poles specifically designed for rehabilitation and balance improvement. These help to decrease the weight/load bearing on the hips, knees and ankle joints  which is beneficial for rehabilitation following hip or knee replacements or for those  recovering from surgeries or fractures in the lower extremities.

Overall, walking poles help to improve balance by engaging the core muscles, therefore improving core strength.  Using poles will assist with maintaining balance with support from the poles and with keeping in an upright posture, rather than flexing forward at the trunk as seen with other assistive devices. Using the poles will require more strength and endurance than walking without the poles.

For more detailed information and educational videos for using the poles please go to http://urbanpoling.com

If you are attached to the LBD PCN and want to get more information or even try out the walking poles, make an appointment with the Exercise Specialist at 780-986-6624.

Senior's Falls Prevention Month - Virtual Trek Across Alberta

This November’s Seniors’ Falls Prevention month focuses on the ‘Keep Active’ message. In partnership with UWALK, Finding Balance is hosting a virtual TREK across Alberta. Seniors across the province can join the TREK challenge by counting and recording the number of steps they take from November 1 to 30. The virtual TREK challenge begins in Coutts, Alberta and finishes in Fitzgerald, Alberta. The goal is 3,263,500 steps.

Let's take steps together to prevent falls.

You can pick up your free Finding Balance pedometer and passport (while supplies last) at the Leduc Beaumont Devon Primary Care Network office.The passport provides information on how to join, count steps, convert minutes of other activities like biking or shoveling into steps and where to log all steps. Group leaders can log steps for their group or individuals can log their own steps.

#301, 4710 - 50 Street, Leduc AB.

www.lbdpcn.com

For more information on Finding Balance and preventing falls, please visit:

http://www.findingbalancealberta.ca