Don't just get your vision checked, train your vision!!!!

Every Tuesday I get a highlight of articles published nationwide about fall prevention, senior balance and mobility and senior exercises.  Week after week, I read the same messages; "fall-proof" your home environment, watch your medications, exercise, and get your vision and hearing checked.

I totally agree with these suggestions however, things need to change.  As science unveils more about the brain and balance, professionals need to update the message to older adults about falls and prevention of falls.

The number one fall prevention message to older adults should be train your vision.  Don't just get your vision checked and be told by some doctor who hasn't read a neuroscience article in the past ten years that 'you're getting old",  "your vision is going to get worse and there's nothing you can do about it", or "you cannot improve your vision".  FALSE.  This is FALSE information!

Vision is a skill and like all skills, it can improve with practice.  Yes, there are diseases of the eyes (macular degeneration, glaucoma and cataracts) that will cause loss of sight but get those eyes moving; especially if you have one of those diseases.

I'm not a doctor, I'm not an optmologist but I am a nervous system specialist, a brain exercise therapist.  Each eye has six muscles.  Those muscles are innervated by three cranial nerves that go directly into the brainstem.

If you want to activate your brain and have an immediate and profound effect on your life, move those eyes.  Learn how to train the four components of vision and your vision will get better.  Your thinking will get sharper.  Your balance will improve tenfold.

Vision is the #1 input to the brain.  Training your eyes is the quickest way to improve your brain health.  So in those same messages to older adults, I want to add, Don't just get your vision checked, TRAIN YOUR VISION and watch your life change.

In honor of the new year and the new decade, 

I'm offering a "Starter Pack" special;

90-minute consultation + (4) sixty-minute sessions for $525

Book today:  info@thefallpreventionlady.com

Change the way you see, change the way you move, change the way you feel.  Get those eyes moving.

3-Step "How to Get-UP" from the floor

Falls are scary for older adults.  The older we get, the more fragile we become.  Most of us don't think about falls but when it happens to you, it's humbling.  A fall to the ground shouldn't hurt.  I should be able to bounce up and get on with my life like no-one saw it.

Unfortuately that's not the way it happens.  When a person over 60 falls, it hurts.  The hurt stays longer than expected.  The ankle takes months to heal and the shoulder still hurts years later.

In most cases,  it's not the fall that is the problem; it's getting up from the floor AFTER the fall!  In fact, nearly half of people who fall cannot get up without assistance.  WHAT????

Nearly half of people over age 65 

can't get up from the floor without help! 

This is a limiting factor in activities of daily life.  Just imagine not being able to get up without help.  That totally limits the type of movement you can do in a day.  You better not drop anything on the floor.  Forget getting down to play with your grandkids.......

Wait.  That's not what retirement is supposed to look like.  You've worked hard your entire life so you can enjoy time with the grandkiddos or on your own.  Freedom to get up and down from the floor should be yours.

As a personal trainer and movement re-educator, I specialize in teaching mature adults how to move their body weight both on the floor and standing, so they can live the life they deserve.

Teaching a person how to move his/her body so they can get up from the floor is probably the best skill I can teach.

Below I show you an option for getting up in case there's not a chair.  

At age 59, it's better to get a cancer diagnosis than to fall!

Last month I attended Perform Better's One-Day Conference in South San Francisco.  Four icons in the fitness industry (Gray Cook, Dan John, Todd Durkin and Martin Rooney) presented one-hour lectures to an auditorium full of movement specialists, personal trainers, physical therapists, massage therapists and athletes in the morning and put four teams of us through an exercise component in the afternoon.

Dan John, a renowned Lifting and Throwing Coach, immediately caught my attention when he said,
 "As a 59 year old man, it's better for me to be diagnosed with cancer than it is for me to fall"!

Statistically, he's right!!!  According to the CDC:

• 1 in 4 people over the age of 65 and one-half of those over 80 will fall this year
• Falls are leading cause of death and injury in people over 65
• 99% of hip fractures are due to falls
• 20% of people who break a hip will die within two years
• Over half will need assistance in one or more activities of daily living the rest of their life

Wow!  As an oral cancer survivor, I know the horrific pain of radiation.  However three years after my treatment ended, the memory of the pain is starting to dull and I am blessed to say my life is not significantly different now than before having cancer.  I can only say this because I worked out everyday during treatment and after six months of presentations and staff trainings, I took a six-month hiatus to rest, recover and routinely build muscle and self-confidence.  

If I was twenty or thirty years older (69 or 79, respectively), tripped, fell and broke my right hip while walking on the sidewalk, statistically the fall would have a greater impact on my life than cancer did.  

I'd like you to think about this for awhile.  A ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.

Think about investing in your future by investing in your balance today.  

The tips and techniques that I teach in my balance and movement classes, will stick with you for the rest of your life.  Your self-confidence will blossom as your balance improves.  

I. N.V. E. S. T.  in Y.O.U!

I offer a dynamic one-time workshop that will help you better understand balance and how aging and exercise impact your independence.  Remember that movement is LIFE.

I also offer the best balance training program for older adults.  FallProof™ is a progressively challenging program that systematically trains the muscles and senses involved in balance.  Definitely not your average 'senior center fall prevention class'.

Visit my website for more information.  THE FALL PREVENTION LADY 
Follow my page on Facebook:  THE FALL PREVENTION LADY on Facebook

Fall Prevention 101™ by Kelly Ward, M.S., CTRS

Researched and created by certified FallProof™ Balance and Mobility Specialist and Stepping On Master Trainer Kelly Ward, M.S., CTRS.

Dynamic workshop about factors that increase the risk of falling and how older adults can reduce that risk.  Supplemental workbook required.


Copyright 2012.
 

StopFalls Sacramento Fall Prevention Coalition

The four leading trauma centers in Sacramento region realize the severity of falls among older adults and have united in the formation of the StopFalls Sacramento fall prevention coalition.  It's estimated that every 12 seconds, an older adult visits the emergency room as a result of a fall.  Thus, falls are the leading cause of visits to the ER for adults over the age 65.

This may not seem like a big deal but when you consider the fact that someone turns 65 years old every five (5) seconds, that's a lot of falls and a lot of people going to the hospital.  And a visit to the ER isn't cheap.  Trauma centers are getting involved because research demonstrates that over half of all falls can be prevented through education, exercise and early detection.

The four leading trauma centers in Sacramento are:
1.  UC Davis Medical Center, Downtown Sacramento area.
2.  Kaiser South Medical Center, Elk Grove/South Sac area.
3.  Mercy San Juan Medical Center, Carmichael/North Sac area.
4.  Sutter Roseville Medical Center, Roseville area.

The senior injury prevention specialists at each of these centers, have formed the StopFalls Sacramento Fall Prevention Coalition.  One of the main objectives of this coalition is to make prevention of falls a united effort between leaders.  In other words, we are setting standards to be used so that we're all measuring the same data and providing the same information.

September is fall prevention awareness month and the StopFalls Sacramento coalition will be offering four (4) fall prevention screening events to connect older adults with resources in the community.  
All four events will be from 9am-noon and host the same screenings.  See dates below:

1.  Tues, September 22:  Mack Road Community Center.  Sponsored by Kaiser South
2.  Wed, Sept. 23:  Carmichael Library.  Sponsored by Mercy San Juan Medical Center
3.  Thurs, Sept. 24:  Roseville Elks Lodge.  Sponsored by Sutter Roseville Medical Center
4.  Friday, Sept. 25:  Asian Community Center.  Sponsored by UCDavis Medical Center

Visit StopFalls Sacramento on Facebook.  Like us!

Fall Prevention workshop at Robbie Waters Library

I have created a dynamic educational workshop that not only keeps participants engaged but also entertained!  I've updated my "Fall Prevention 101" workshop to include evidence-based balance exercises and research-based principles.  I recently presented to a full house at the Robbie Waters Library in the Pocket area of Sacramento, CA.

The main objective of my educational workshop is to empower older adults to take responsibility for their safety and make changes when possible.  There were over forty (40) people in attendance for my workshop at the library and nearly everyone in the audience was ready to begin balance training afterward!  See my schedule!

I love it and I'm proud to announce that I have been invited to teach three Balance Training 101 classes at the Robbie Waters library!  I've changed the content and usual programming of the FallProof™ program to offer the three following Saturday morning classes:

Robbie Waters Library
7335 Gloria Dr
Sacramento, CA  95831

1.  Saturday, September 19.  9:00-10:30am
2.  Saturday, September 26.  9:00-10:30am
3.  Saturday, October 3.  9:00-10:30am

Classes are free and open to the first 20 sign-ups.  You do not have to attend all three classes but it is recommended since I will be teaching ways to increase the challenge or make modifications to each exercise.

This is an amazing opportunity.  Thank you to Robbie Waters Library for sponsoring this life changing balance training program!  Call today to register:  (916) 264-2700.

Four couples in FallProof™ balance & mobility class

Well this is a first!  I not only have four men in my current balance training class but I also have four men AND their wives!  Couples who challenge their balance together remain healthy and able together!  In addition to the eight partners, I want to thank the remaining five class participants for choosing to improve their balance and prevent a fall.

Exercise is the number one way to prevent a fall however medication management and home safety are undeniable risk factors that require attention.  As such, it is important to systematically review potential fall hazards in your home and to review your medications in order to make sure you aren't taking two of the same type or one medication that cancels the effects of other.

Sound confusing?  It's responsibility.  You cannot be expected to make a change unless you know what needs to be changed.  I strongly encourage you to get educated about things that increase the risk of slipping, tripping or falling.  

Follow these easy steps to increased safety and peace of mind:
1.  Attend one of my Fall Prevention 101 workshops
2.  Click on this link, LINK, for a Home Safety Checklist
3. Visit your pharmacist and request a "BROWN BAG" day

Big kudos to the husband and wife teams who have decided to embark on this program.  It's time to take responsibility for your safety and well-being.  Do what you can and do not hesitate to ask for help; it's out there!

Northwest Florida Fall Prevention Coalition's February meeting

I moved from Sacramento, CA to Pensacola, FL shortly before Thanksgiving and there haven't been many fall prevention opportunities in the local community until now.  I am so excited that the Northwest Florida fall prevention coalition meets the first Tuesday of the month at the Sacred Heart Cancer Center.  Meetings are held on the third floor from noon-1pm.  

I am so excited to meet local fall prevention enthusiasts and hopefully plan some future community events.  I would love to offer my dynamic, educational fall prevention workshop to older adults throughout Escambia and Santa Rosa counties.  However my ultimate goal is to offer my 4- or 6-week version of the FallProof™ balance and mobility training classes that I taught in Sacramento county for over seven years.  

The Stepping On fall prevention program, in which I am a master trainer and can train other staff members, is an evidence-based program that would be an excellent collaborative effort with local community experts.  Starting a seven-week pilot program for seniors would be a great opportunity to not only work within my new community but also benefit older residents living in the community.  

So excited for all things fall prevention and balance training in Pensacola.

Blessings~

The Fall Prevention Lady

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