USC Caregivers Are Learning More (C.A.L.M.) Telephone Series

I am a member of the Southern California Fall Prevention Coalition.  To me, this is where it all began; Dr. Debra Rose, Dr. John Pynoos, The Center for Successful Aging, The Fall Prevention Center of Excellence, USC Andrus Gerontology program, and other senior service agencies that are active in the prevention of falls among the aging population in the greater Los Angeles region.

Yesterday I received the email I had been waiting for; three opportunities to contribute to community fall prevention events!  I immediately responded and will be hosting the Fall Prevention Coalition booth at the Senior Awareness Fair at Our Lady of Malibu Church in Malibu on April 7th and El Segundo's 2nd Annual Community Wellness Day Fair on June 1st.    Yay, out and about spreading the word in SoCAL!!!! 

On Friday March 15, I will be the featured speaker for USC's Caregivers Are Learning More (C.A.L.M.) Telephone Series.   From noon-1pm, I will be talking to busy caregivers (some of them adult children) about common fall risk factors and how to reduce those risks.  I will talk about basic exercises that fall prevention researchers recommend to improve balance and how to modify and advance these exercises to meet individual needs.

The need to educate busy caregivers about how to care for a person after a fall became strikingly evident after my grandmother fell last month.  Suddenly my uncles and mother were faced with the reality of caring for a parent after a fall; the strong parent now exuding feelings of vulnerability and mortality and buried dynamics of guilt, anger and fear.  

This ticking time bomb must be dealt with and the best time is before the explosion.  However life doesn't happen like that.  In America, we wait for an accident to happen and then we scramble to pick up the pieces.  I am so excited about sharing my knowledge about falls and how to reduce the risk of an accident with the family caregiver network at USC.  I highly recommend my book, The Complete Guide to Fall Prevention, as a supplement to my presentation and a guide for all family members to read BEFORE, or after, an accident. 

Fall Prevention researchers recommend increased awareness of fall risk factors and engagement in a consistent exercise program that includes four different types of exercise, including increased postural awareness.

Order my book today and arm yourself and your family, with the tools to avoid the aftermath of a fall.  Rest assured knowing you are doing what evidence supports to keep your loved one safe.

Spreading the word.
The Fall Prevention Lady

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The REAL Balance Manual

Plagiarism.   1. the verbatim copying or imitation of the language, ideas, or thoughts of another author and representing them as one’s own original work.

Noun

1.

plagiarism - a piece of writing that has been copied from someone else and is presented as being your own work.

I am the Fall Prevention Lady and my work and creativity from my book, The Complete Guide to Fall Prevention™,  has been plagiarized by Mike Ross, author of The Balance Manual.   He is using my hard work and creativity for his own marketing and sales.  He has added aspects from my book such as how to get up from a fall and upper body strengthening exercises among other things. 

This is absolute crap.   I am not the best at online marketing so I have to sit here and witness this total lack of integrity because the legal repercussions of online plagiarism are not in favor of the original author (ME).  

It's funny but years ago when I was developing my Take 5 to Exercise fall prevention DVD series, I went to an online marketing seminar.   Mike Ross was there.  The leader of the seminar acknowledged the fact that online plagiarism is rampant and there is nothing a person can do about it.    In fact, he encouraged the use of other people's marketing tactics even to the point that angry responses (such as this blog) can be used to boost sales.    Damned if I do and damned if I don't.

What can I do about online plagiarism?  Nothing because the repercussions are minimal.  It's ok, my God is a God of justice and there will be consequences for this lack of integrity.  The money may be good now but there will be cost for using my creativity and hard work.

So here's the bottom line, The Fall Prevention Lady is a balance and mobility expert who wrote a book, The Complete Guide to Fall Prevention, based on years of experience and research.   I am not an online marketer.  I do not plagiarize people's work. 

If you want to reduce the risk of a fall while improving your balance, order my book.
 CLICK HERE

Plagiarized,
The Fall Prevention Lady

Balance Training at Oak Avenue Free Methodist

I taught my first FallProof™ balance and mobility training session at the Oak Avenue Free Methodist Church in Orangevale, CA and I have to say this was one of the most enjoyable groups that I have ever taught!  The joy of Lord filled the room each and every class and the group did great.

We started with 8 participants; 6 women and 2 men.  One woman withdrew due to health issues and one of the men attended infrequently but gave it his all when he was there.  Everyone showed improvement in at least one of the fitness parameters associated with fall risk.

In fact, the most improved participant in class was a 74 year old gentleman. He increased his lower body strength by 15%, his dynamic balance and agility improved 45% and his lower body flexibility improved 19%.  In everyday life, he was able to do 2 more chair stands in 30 seconds, get up and walk around a cone 1.9 seconds faster and was able to reach 5.7 inches closer to his toes!  Yes, he improved his lower body flexibility by nearly 6 inches in only four weeks!!!!

I have to say that one lady beat the lower body flexibility improvement.  On the first day of testing, one 70-year old woman was 7.5 inches from her toes!  Her hamstrings were so tight, it severely affected her walking gait and increased her chance of falling.  After 4 weeks of homework and dedication, she was able to reach ONE INCH past her toes on the final testing day!  WOO-HOOO!


Praise the Lord~! 
This group showed dedication and determination to reduce the risk of a fall while improving balance and stability.  And they did a wonderful job of it!  It's never too late to improve your balance and with hard work and determination, you too can touch your toes one day!    

ORDER MY BOOK TODAY AND LEARN HOW TO IMPROVE YOUR BALANCE AND REDUCE THE RISK OF  A FALL.  

Fall prevention exercise program

So what are the different types of exercise a person must to do reduce the risk of a fall?  A balanced exercise program that focuses on functional abilities is what researchers recommend older adults practice.  Researchers have identified four types of exercise a person should be doing to reduce the risk of an accidental fall.  


1.  Balance training:  Obviously if a person wants to prevent a fall, s/he needs to practice balance training.  Tai Chi is an excellent way to increase awareness of body position in space and learn how to control your bodily movements but that is just one aspect of balance.


2.  Flexibility training:  Due to physiological changes associated with aging, our connective tissue loses elasticity resulting in less flexibility with age.  This stiffness is more evident in our lower body and affects our walking gait.  We need to stretch more as we age.  While some types of yoga is good for flexibility training,  holding some of the positions in yoga require strength.

3.  Strength training: Adults need lean muscle mass if they want to remain independent.  Unfortunately, we lose muscle mass as we age.  The best thing an older adult can do to reduce the risk of a fall is to strengthen her/his lower body muscles.   Strength training or resistance work, has amazing benefits for older adults and it's NEVER TOO LATE to benefit from regular strength training. 

4.  Endurance training:  Often, this type of training elevates the heart rate and has some cardiovascular benefits however I like to think of endurance training for older adults as total body movement sustained for 15 minutes or longer.  Increased endurance levels improve the ability to do activities of daily living without fatigue.  While walking is great exercise, it is not the only type of movement a person should be doing to remain independent.


So there it is...if you want to reduce the risk of an accidental fall, slip or trip, try to incorporate each type of exercise into your routine.  Don't get discouraged and give up...you can do the Basic 5 stretches featured in my Take 5 to Exercise DVD series anytime, anywhere. 


If you don't have any idea where to start, I recommend purchasing my new book, The Complete Guide to Fall Prevention.  My book describes the different types of exercise, provides step-by-step instructions and pictures of how to get started in a well-balanced exercise program designed to keep you independent.


Get moving to stay independent!
The Fall Prevention Lady

Fall Prevention 101 workshop @Fremont Presbyterian church

Today I will be giving a free Fall Prevention 101 workshop at Fremont Presbyterian Church.  Attendees will learn about what causes falls and how to progressively challenge the body's balance systems.   They will also receive a discount to purchase my new book, The Complete Guide to Fall Prevention.

This is an introduction to the balance training classes I teach in the community.  I will be offering a 4-week session at Fremont in August.  For more information about other locations in the Sacramento area, please visit my website, http://thefallpreventionlady.com.  OR click this link HERE.http://thefallpreventionlady.com/local-class-and-workshop-schedule

Increased awareness is the first step to preventing falls.
Take Responsibility for your wellness.

The Fall Prevention Lady

Fall Prevention Center of Excellence - Fall Prevention Week

Fall Prevention Center of Excellence - Social Marketing Resources

The mecca of prevention of falls, The Fall Prevention Center of Excellence, urges communities everywhereto get active and offer fall prevention education during Fall Prevention Week!

Mark your calendars....Sep. 22-28, 2012.

Reading my book, "The Complete Guide to Fall Prevention™" will give you scientifically-based background of balance and plenty of ideas to promote.  I urge you to buy my book and educate your community.

Don't give up on improving your balance

I walked into my client's home yesterday and this was what he said to me, "I quit, I'm not going to do this training anymore".  "I can't do this, my balance won't improve".  "This isn't helping me, my balance isn't getting any better".   His wife just shook her head.

I reminded him that this was our third balance and mobility training session and that noticeable improvement takes time.  And practice!  He has a medical condition and he takes 19 (yes, 19) medications each day.  This obviously affects his balance.  As I mention in my book, "The Complete Guide to Fall Prevention™", I suggested that he take all his medications to his pharmacist and for a comprehensive review to check drug-drug interactions, expiration dates, to ask about side effects and the target organ of each medication affects.

I also suggested that he relax and give his body some time to react to these new demands, afterall, Rome wasn't built in a day.  He didn't lose his balance overnight so it's not going to come back after 3 training sessions and little practice.  (He admitted he hadn't practiced the exercises).

We went on with our training session and he did awesome.  He showed better postural control during the seated multi-sensory exercises and total body control during the standing weight shifts.  His walking gait had improved quite a bit since last week (thanks to his wife and her daily walks) and he even "stepped" out of his comfort zone and practiced regaining his balance.

He said his balance "definitely wasn't what it used to be" but not to give up on him yet!  I laughed and told him not to give up on HIMSELF!  He is living with a medical condition that is beyond his control, the medications are affecting his balance and his body has changed over the years. 

The moral:  GIVE IT TIME and KEEP PRACTICING.  Balance is a motor skill and your body will adapt to the new demands of balance training.   But like other skills, you have to practice to get better!  Hang in there, do something, don't give up.

Keeping you upright,
The Fall Prevention Lady™
Click here to order my new book:  HERE!