Falls and Balance for Seniors - what you Need to Know
Balance is the foundation of our ability to move, walk and function independently. Falling is a major cause of decline and injury resulting in death for seniors. Each year 36 million older adults fall resulting in 3 million visits to the emergency room. A fall can result in severe injury such as fractures and head injuries resulting in long-term disability. How do you know if you may be susceptible to a balance problem? If you suffer from things like dizziness or vertigo, falling sensation, staggering when walking, lightheaded ness when getting up, blurry vision or confusion, you may be headed for a balance problem and a fall. Here are the most common causes of balance problems and what you can do about it to prevent or reduce the likelihood of falling.
Blood Pressure...
High blood pressure and low blood pressure can both affect your balance and lead to potential falls. If yours is high, consider eating less salt, exercising and lowering your weight. For low blood pressure, drinking more water, and avoiding too much alcohol, soda and caffeinated beverages. Get up slowly from sitting or squatting and never stand quickly as you may feel faint or blackout and fall. Test your blood pressure regularly at your local pharmacy or opt for an in-home testing machine. This will make it easy and convenient for you to manage your blood pressure and take control.
Prescription Medications…
Western populations have the best medical care and pharmaceuticals available to us at our fingertips. Doctors routinely prescribe drugs to treat symptoms unlike other cultures who look to treat and fix the cause of the symptoms. This results in the average senior taking four or more prescriptions and twenty percent of seniors taking ten prescription medications per day for various maladies. Check with your doctor if you are experiencing dizziness or feel off balance and review your prescriptions and how they interact with one another. These can often be the culprit for feeling woozy, dizzy or weak.
Reduced Strength…
Many seniors spend most if not all the day sitting. Although this may be exactly what you want to do, it may not be the best for your balance and overall health. Balance is a complex interplay between joints, muscles and nerves. The more we sit, the more our muscles atrophy. As they say if you don’t use it, you will lose it. Losing muscle tone results in weakness and less scaffolding to support us when standing. If you can’t do vigorous exercise, try chair yoga or lifting weights while seated. Practices squats which will strengthen the muscles you need to rise from a seated position from a chair, car or commode. Better yet, consult with a trainer at your local gym and actively weight lift to build muscle and reduce muscle wasting from a sedentary lifestyle. Although it may not be fun to exercise for some people, consider that it is a necessity for healthy aging. When we were young, we could get by without it, but that may likely not work for most people who are concerned about aging healthfully and maintaining independence.
Inner Ear Problems…
Some senior’s balance can be thrown off by a legit problem with the inner ear. Things such as labyrinthitis which is an inflammation of the inner ear causes vertigo or a spinning sensation. This can be caused by an ear infection or chronic allergies. Miners’ disease is another inner ear disorder that can throw you off balance. If you feel dizzy or spinning sensations, the best thing to do is get checked out immediately by your doctor to head off a possible fall. Consider cessation of driving and navigating stairs until it clears up to avoid a serious accident.
Alcohol…
Alcohol can be a great social lubricant and provide you with an outlet for stress and anxiety. Nobody wants to be a buzz kill, but if you are dizzy a lot consider if it may be related to alcohol consumption. Keep a food diary and note how you feel after consuming alcohol and see if there is a correlation to your dizzy spells. If so, cut back or quit drinking alcohol completely or limit to an occasional special occasion drink. Mixing alcohol with medications can exacerbate the affects and put you at risk for issues like falling.
Other Medical Conditions…
Certain chronic long-term diseases can also cause balance problems. If you have any of the following it may be the culprit: Diabetes, heart disease, stroke, vision issues thyroid problems and even allergies can have secondary implications for proper balance. Discuss your balance issue with your doctor to determine if one of these problems may be affecting your balance.
Coping with a Chronic Balance Problem…
For some, there is nothing you can do to resolve the balance issue. So, what can you do? Find a support group to connect with others and learn from their experiences. Use walking aids like a cane or walker to ensure you can catch yourself if you lose your balance. Limit stairs or move to an environment where you no longer have to navigate them. Alternatively, install a lift that you can strap into and ride up instead of waling reducing the risk of a fall. Wear non-skid rubber soled shoes and slippers and avoid wearing high heels altogether.
As always, if you are concerned about falling make an appointment to get checked out by your doctor of trusted medical professional. Heading off a fall before it happens can save you a serious medical injury and months of recuperation and physical therapy.