Decreasing Fall Risk at Cedar Hill Physical Therapy in Greensboro, NC
Don’t Let Yourself Live in Fear of Falling!
Have you ever felt unbalanced, dizzy, or unsteady, as though you could fall over at any moment? Have you ever tripped and fallen? Are you worried about the risk of having a fall-related injury? If this is the case, you are not alone.
Most people don’t think about keeping their balance in shape until it’s too late and they’ve sustained a hard fall. The good news is that most falls can easily be avoided, simply by exercising your balance system regularly.
Falls are the leading cause of fatal and non-fatal accidents in older adults. Every year, one-third of the population over 65 experiences some sort of fall. In 2013, more than 2.5 million people were treated in emergency departments for non-fatal injuries, according to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC).
Contact Cedar Hill Physical Therapy and Wellness Center in Greensboro, NC if you fear that you are at risk of falling, so we can help you find the source of your problem and deal with it accordingly.
Common symptoms associated with fall risk
Signs and symptoms of balance problems include:
- Sense of motion or spinning (vertigo)
- Feeling of faintness or lightheadedness
- Loss of balance or unsteadiness
- Falling or feeling like you might fall
- Feeling a floating sensation or dizziness
- Vision changes, such as blurriness
- Confusion
If you have any of these symptoms, physical therapy could greatly benefit you and help prevent the risk of falling.
Conditions that increase fall risk
Paul the Physical Therapist will assess your medical history to determine how many risk factors toward falling you may have.
He will educate you on what these factors mean, as well as steps you can take to decrease your risk.
Some people have a higher risk of falling than others. Certain risk factors include:
- Heart disease
- Advanced age
- Fatigue
- Living a sedentary life
- Overall poor health
- Vertigo or dizziness
- Being female
- Parkinson’s disease
- Alzheimer’s disease
- Previous history of falls
- Diabetes
- Previous stroke or heart attack
- Arthritis or alternative joint pain
- Problems with vision
- Problems with walking or staying balanced
What will a fall prevention PT plan look like?
Your initial physical examination at Cedar Hill Physical Therapy Greensboro may consist of several components to help decide what your weaknesses are.
Assessments of your gait, balance, range of motion, and strength may all be performed. Based on the results of your evaluation, Paul the Physical Therapist will design a treatment plan for your specific needs.
These plans are aimed first and foremost at reducing your risk of falling, but they will also aid you in improving balance, strength, flexibility, endurance, and overall movement.
A fall prevention plan may include:
- Balance training. Balance training involves doing exercises that strengthen the muscles that help keep you upright. These kinds of exercises can improve stability and help prevent falls.
- Strength training. Strength training can help you increase bone strength and muscular fitness. Strengthening specific muscle groups can improve a person’s ability to stand, walk, and recover from a loss of balance.
- Endurance training. Endurance training can improve your stamina making fatigue less likely to occur during typical daily activities. Fatigue is a falls risk factor.
- Pain management. If you are experiencing pain, it will be addressed first in your plan of care in order to decrease any discomfort you may have.
How does physical therapy help decrease fall risk?
A recently published systematic review by Cochrane, comprising more than 100 randomized controlled trials, supports exercise interventions as an effective method of treatment for patients at increased risk of falling. The average age of the patients in this review was 76, and 77% of the patients were female.
The risk of fall-related fractures decreased by 27 percent and the number of falls that required medical attention decreased by 39 percent. Fall risk was also reduced by 21-24 percent in this group, depending on whether individual or group treatments had been performed.
Results concluded that those who participated in exercise interventions had a 23 percent drop in fall risk compared to the control group.
Concluding statements by the authors showed that overall, “Exercise reduces both the rate of falls… and the number of people experiencing falls.”
Find relief with physical therapy
Fight the fall today. If you’re ready to get back on your feet by improving your balance and lowering your risk of a fall-related injury, contact Cedar Hill Physical Therapy Greensboro to request an appointment and get started today!
Your Next Steps…
Request An Appointment
Receive A Custom Treatment Plan
Work Hard and Progress In Your Recovery
Recover & Enjoy Life Pain-Free!
