[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Most people don’t think about their balance until they fall, but there are usually a series of signs leading up to the fall. If made aware of these warning signs then a pro-active preventive program can be developed. If you have questions about your stability such as a fear of going up and down stairs as having to rely on hand rails this may be an early warning. If you become more sedentary as your vision decreases and unsure of your balance, are you beginning to become more confined to the house or a room? Does your social interaction lessen and you become more and more concerned about being steady on their feet? Geriatricians refer to a change of lifestyle when the narrowing the life activities begin to dominate one’s life. For those with Parkinson’s disease or the elderly this narrowing of life activities results in decreasing the quality of life. Some signs to be aware of is travel tapers off, trips out of town grow rare and, then so do trips beyond the neighborhood, house, bedroom and bed.

These changes affect a person’s balance increasing the probability of falls, poor posture, problems with center of mass or center of gravity, vision, earring. Your center of gravity is the distribution of your body weight between your bases of support which is your feet placed shoulder width apart. If you were to stand up and drop a string with a weight on the end from your nose to floor it would fall between your feet. This is your base of support and the center of gravity. With the emerging of poor posture, stooping, walking with a shuffle, not picking the feet up or lifting the knees it is not uncommon for your center of gravity to fall outside of your base of support.

Falls can be caused by stooped posture and leaning forward walking with a shuffling gait. What happens with our daily activities when these things are now part of your life’s movement? The probability of losing balance with daily activities such as standing, bending down or forward; turning sharply, walking and turning the head or moving around objects or walking and talking has increased. Add in vision problems which most people over 65 have such as double vision and changes in depth perception the increase in the probability of a fall increases dramatically.

Have you ever considered constipation as a contributor of falls? Probability not! You are over 65 and taking some type of medication which could cause some light constipation, have you increased your water intake? Added prune juice or some natural diuretic to your diet? Constipation is a major concern with PD.

Constipation can increase the risk of falls in the bathroom, how? Because straining for a bowel movement can cause a drop in blood pressure which could cause one to become dizzy and then lose balance and fall. Constipation puts pressure on the bladder causing urinary incontinence so you rush to the bathroom, lose your balance or slip on lost urine.

Does your medication cause you to be dizzy? Do you need to revisit your current medication regimen and make some adjustments? The rule of thumb when it comes to medication and falling is “Less is best.” If you think your medications are putting you at risk of falling work with your Dr. and health care team. This could be as simple as small adjustments in your medication dosages or the timing. Also this may be a consideration is decreasing the number of medications.

Here is part of the problem, we’ve developed an active lifestyle, reached our later years when we should be enjoying the fruits of our labor and we still have an exaggerated sense of what we can and cannot do. The world is full of landmines waiting to cause a fall: staircases, throw rugs, slick bathtubs, concrete parking lot bumpers, curbs, broken sidewalks, tree roots, pets, and medications like those for hypertension, antidepressants and Parkinson’s medications.

I tell my clients if you fall we have a whole different set of issues we have to deal with which we don’t want to have to address as none of them are good. I also tell them the secret to not falling is, don’t fall. I will expand on this in greater detail when we get into balance and exercises.

This is a staggering statistic, twenty five percent of people over 65 who fall and break a hip die within a year. Eighty percent are left with severe mobility problems can’t walk, confined to a wheel chair and require continuing care as in skilled nursing. Most of these people were frail, sick or both prior to the fall.

The greatest concern of aging and PD, in my opinion and experience of working it this industry for years, is the losing one’s independence. So why increase the risk of losing your independence by increasing the risk of falling? When some very simple adjustment to your lifestyle gives a greater ability to maintain your independence?

Fall upends your life the instance you hit the floor or ground and usually results in the risk of suddenly losing your independence. Now what? The lifestyle you had is now a reliance on friends and family. A new level of fear is now part of your life the fear of falling again.

You’ve broken a bone, hip, shoulder, arm, wrist or leg this is probably going to require surgery, rehab and a stay in the hospital. Your life as you knew it has changed, the independence is now a dependence on others and the new lifestyle begins. Maybe, just maybe this could have all been avoided. More on this later.

This probably wasn’t the first time you fell was it? Like many you blamed yourself for tripping, stumbling or missing a step and was embarrassed hoping no one saw you. But you like many refuse to; recognize your own gradual deterioration, leaving yourself vulnerable and a risk for a fall.

So this generation the greatest generation as coined by Tom Brokaw is characterized by feisty independence, that are accustomed to telling others what to do, not the other way around. It is now a problem that needs to be addressed, how do we get you to listen?

The roles of children and parents could now change as they become the caretaker. Something to think about, I mean really think about.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]