The Fall Prevention Lady's 3-Step Get UP" Plan

If you're over the age of 65 and live alone, one of your biggest fears might be falling and not being able to get up from the floor.  

 

Stuck lying on the floor for hours, even days, before anyone finds you

If you're a baby boomer caring for your parents, one of your biggest worries might be that your mother or father who live alone, will fall down and be stuck lying on the floor.

Stuck lying on the floor for hours, even days, before anyone finds them

As a balance and mobility expert, I have the solution you're looking for;  my 3-Step GET UP Plan.

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Sign Me UP!

The best gift I can give you is the ability to move your body so you're not stuck on the floor.  My 3-Step Get UP plan addresses your biggest fear but you have to start today, while you're able.

Don't wait for a fall to get down on the ground  Don't wait until you're hurt to start building strength to lift your own your body weight.  Build those leg muscles now.  Make a plan now.  Practice now.

Increase Flexibility, Improve Walking Gait and Prevent a Fall

Lower body flexibility is one of the fitness and fall risk markers that I assess in my Brains and Balance Training classes.  Following standardized senior fitness testing protocol, I test class participants on the first day and again on the last day to measure efficacy of training intervention on reduced fall risk.

I've been implementing Senior Fitness testing on every person in every class since 2006;  I have 12 years of data to demonstrate the effectiveness of consistent brains and balance mobility training.  I can honestly say that class participants have improved in AT LEAST ONE of the three senior fitness tests /fall risk assessments in my twelve years as a balance and mobility instructor.

The class works when you do the assigned homeplay exercises.  These do not take much time but they do take effort.  Why should you care about lower body flexibility?

• Lower body flexibility is necessary if you want to walk without tripping over your toes.  
• Lower body flexibility is necessary if you do not want to shuffle.  
• Lower body flexibility is necessary if you do want to relieve low back pain.  
• Lower body flexibility is kind of a big deal for independence.

Every once in awhile I have a class participant who improves exceedingly above the average.  In the latest class at Del Webb's Retreat in Roseville, I had three participants who improved so much in their lower body flexibility that I wanted to write about it.

The guy who improved the most in his lower body flexibility gained 4.5 inches in five weeks.  Let me explain; on day one, his reach was nearly five inches from his toes.  On the last day of class, he could touch his toes!  This gentleman is 76 years old.

Close behind him was the 90-year old female participant!  Although she was still three inches from reaching her toes, she gained THREE INCHES in lower body flexibility during the five week training.  As a result of improved lower body flexibility, she walks more steady and balanced.

In fact, during the first week of class she held onto her husband's arm when doing walking gait exercises.  Let's just say that quickly changed!  Now she's walking independently, more steady, with more confidence and an upright stance.  100% improvement in her walking gait.

The third participant who made huge improvements in his lower body flexibility was her 91-year old husband.  On day one, he was two inches from reaching his toes.  On the final day, he was touching his toes.  This guy not only improved in lower body flexibility but also lower body strength; he was able to do six more chair stands on the last day of class!

I am so proud of everyone in this session of Brains and Balance Training with Coach Kelly at The Retreat in Del Webb; especially the couple in their early nineties.   It's so awesome to see everyone improve; by the second week, postural improvements are evident  By the third week, personal awareness of changes in daily activities are reported.  The fourth and fifth week solidify these improvements within the nervous system and the entire body moves better.

Increased lower body flexibility and stronger leg muscles are fitness components that all older adults need if they want to avoid an accidental fall.  These two fitness measures are essential for a healthy walking gait and independent lifestyle.

Train the brain to improve movement.
Movement is life; it's time to start living.

The Fall Prevention Lady, aka Coach Kelly

Brains and Balance training rule #1: Never move into pain

Your brain is plastic.  Your brain can change.  The way you move can change.  The amount of pain you live with every day can change.  Your balance can change.  The way you think can change.  The possibilities are endless however in order to reap the benefits of functional neuro-antomy, aka "brain training", there are a few rules you must follow.

Learning New Method of Getting UP from Floor

The number one rule when training for change at the brain level; never move into pain.  Pain is an output and is the brain's way of saying stop.  In order to teach your brain how to move better, you have to break bad movement habits. 

This means you have to move in ways you haven't moved.  In some cases, it might be the first time you've ever moved correctly and that may feel different.

Different is good; pain is bad.  When I train private clients and teach classes, I guide people through new movements.  The brain loves novelty; it pays attention.   It's fun to watch people move a part of the body for the first time; facial expressions, tense muscles, and absolute concentration fill the room.  This is good!  You can teach an old brain new tricks.

Learning how to move each joint of the body is essential for optimal movement. The better a joint can move in isolation, the better your TOTAL BODY MOVEMENT.  If you want to walk better, you want to be able to control all the joints and body parts in isolation so when called upon to work together, there aren't any surprises to the brain.

Because some body parts haven't moved in full range of motion in years, it can be awkward but it should never be painful!  All exercises can be modified to reduce pain.  The way to reduce pain and still be able to move is to:

1. Slow down the movement
2. Make the movement smaller

Joints, muscles and nerves were made to move!  We already know that if you don't use it, you lose it.  Start slow and get bigger.  Stay out of pain as you learn to control how your body moves, both in isolation and integrated movement.

The Fall Prevention Lady

Life is better after two cerebellar strokes with brain training drills

I met Don at the "Fall Prevention 101" workshop I presented for the Del Oro Caregivers at the Maidu Center in September 2017.  At the time, Don was struggling with severe balance issues related to inner ear canal dysfunction resulting from head injuries when he was younger.  Dizziness is a huge problem for people who have had traumatic brain injury, concussions, or any type of head injury.

Granted Don's head injuries happened many, many years ago but at age 74, he was not ready to accept life on dizzy terms.  He eagerly signed up for my Brains and Balance class at the Fair Oaks United Methodist church.  While he was able to do 75% of the exercises without getting dizzy, we quickly realized he needed more personalized training.

Cerebellum is the integration center of the brain

After several private training sessions, Don was making improvements but was still angry that he couldn't do what he wanted, when he wanted, how he wanted.  This is common as we get older; there comes a time when we have to accept 'new' limitations and treat those issues if we want to live better longer.   Needless to say, he wasn't pleased about this whole "aging" process!

I didn't hear from Don over the holidays then I got a call, "Can you come see me, Kelly?" Absolutely.  At our visit, he told me that he had two strokes in his cerebellum over the holiday and wanted my help.  He told me the physical therapist at Kaiser was good but she wasn't as good as me!  Flattered and having just completed Z-Health's doctoral level 9S Structure course, I felt confident in my ability to test and train his cerebellum.

I assessed and identified left cerebellum dysfunction, specifically in the mid-Cerebellum region, and prescribed drills for him to do several times a day.  Due to the cost of private sessions, I don't see him as often as I would have liked but yesterday, I got a call; "can you come see me?"

Yesterday I visited Don and could not believe my eyes; he looked AMAZING!  Everything about him was different; he was more calm, his eyes were relaxed, he was balanced and when we went through the drills, he did fantastic!  He said he felt better than ever and was pleased with the results.

I asked what he'd been doing and he said, "I've been doing all the drills you told me to do; I feel great and I wanted to thank you for saving my life"!   All the training charts were on the wall, he described his daily routine and said he wanted more drills!  The perfect client!

Don is living proof that doing drills to activate specific regions of the brain can have profound effects on the way you move, see, balance and behave.  Precise training gives you precise results but you HAVE TO DO THE DRILLS.

If you want to live better longer, contact me.
If you've had a stroke and want to activate parts of the brain to help you move better, contact me.
If you want to see better, balance better and move better, contact me.

If you have your reservation at the nursing home, do not contact me.

Movement is life; it's time to start living!
The Fall Prevention Lady