Sure footing for seniors

Yup. The little mishap that many seniors tend to worry about, turns out to be a very valid cause for concern. Not an inconvenience, not a setback, but a potentially life-altering and even life-threatening event.

South of the border, each year about 350,000 Americans fall and break a hip. Of these, 40 per cent end up in a nursing home as a result, while 20 per cent never walk again. What’s more, and this is the real shocker, 20 per cent of those people who sustain a fall die within a year of the fracture, not from the fall itself but in many cases from complications of forced inactivity.

Studies reveal that the three primary risk factors of falling are poor balance, taking more than four prescription medications, and muscle weakness. To that we would add environmental factors like poor lighting, slippery surfaces, stairs and ill-equipped bathrooms.

Public health officials across North America are sitting up and taking notice of the increasing problem of falls as our population ages (including aging baby-boomers, let’s not kid ourselves.) The Toronto Board of Health, for example, developed a Your Safe Home Checklist to help people identify risks for falls in their homes. They based their checklist on a similar project based in San Francisco.

Here in Montreal, the Department of Public Health (Direction de la Santé publique) has put together a very comprehensive program for anyone concerned about falls. They researched the program carefully when creating it, tested it on trial groups and are having great success with those who sign on to participate. It is a 12 week free course, with classes twice weekly. Participants are evaluated at the beginning and at the end of the three month course by a CLSC physiotherapist, to see how much strength and balance they have gained. A university graduate with training from the public health department leads the classes, and gradually helps participants to improve strength in key muscle groups needed for good stability, and to better sense and self-correct their balance and equilibrium. Tips are also supplied on identifying what hazards for tripping might exist in your home.

So, the question arises. If you are a senior, younger or older, and you are concerned about falls, why on earth would you not take this course?! It’s free, it’s offered by professionals, and it has a good track record. The only thing you need to supply is commitment to attend all the classes, as the program is carefully structured, so missing classes interrupts the gradual learning and improvement. The next fall prevention course is offered at Contactivity Centre in Westmount in conjunction with the CLSC Metro (with assistance from the Father Dowd Foundation.) Call Contactivity at 514-932-2326 for more information.