Muscle Weakness and Balance/Coordination Problems Due to Lack of Physical Activity
Although I’ve been back in home health for 5 years now, I owned my own outpatient PT clinic from 2009-2019. I loved doing outpatient therapy. I got to meet many interesting people and I enjoyed working with those that were motivated to improve whatever situation they were facing. We treated many young adults and teens that were injured in athletics/sports, but my favorite population was the “over 65” crowd. Selfishly, I loved the life lessons I would learn. I loved hearing stories from veterans of both WWII and Vietnam. Stories of people that had lived abroad or traveled the world. And I loved this population as they would improve rapidly with the interventions we would offer in the clinic.
Many of the issues facing this population were sedentary lifestyle issues. By that I don’t mean that they lived lifestyles that were “wrong” (whatever that means), but rather as they were aging, they’re levels of physical activity declined. General strength declined. Flexibility declined. Balance declined. Muscle coordination declined. As an example I would always ask any (over 65) client I was working with, “When was the last time you got down on the floor?” Surprisingly about a third of the responses were positive. “I get down on the floor every time my grandchildren are over.” However approximately 2 out of 3 would say “I never get on the floor.” or “I’m afraid I won’t be able to get back up.” My favorite response of all time was “Do you mean voluntarily?” I had to laugh, “Yes, voluntarily, when was the last time you got on the floor?”
Getting Down On The Floor
Getting down on the floor seems so simple. It is not. You have to have back, hip, ankle and knee flexibility. You have to have the strength to lower yourself down and to push back up off the floor. You have to have the coordination to sequence the act of getting up.
This might be the place to start. If you or your loved one is scared of getting down on the floor, it might be time to consult a physical therapist who can teach you safely how to perform this, and perform this as an exercise. If someone is severely debilitated or depends on a wheelchair and ramp to get into and out of their home, this may not be realistic. However if you’re considering adding grab bars around the toilet and into your shower to improve safety, it might not be a bad idea. I can’t back this next question up with a scientific study, but ask yourself this: Who is more likely to fall? The person that gets up and down off of the floor 10x a day (performed as an exercise.) Or…the person who never gets down on the floor?
Exercise Options
I’m not saying this is the only exercise that can or should be performed for fall prevention. There are a host of things that can be done. Participating in group exercise classes at the gym or senior center are an excellent and low cost way to reduce fall risk. Most gyms now offer Tai Chi classes aimed at the older population due to Tai Chi’s excellent history of improving balance and coordination. Home Health Physical Therapy/Occupational Therapy or an in-home personal trainer can develop a home exercise program to help reduce fall risk. (If your loved one has medical conditions or a history of falling, it might be better to at least start with PT or OT). Swimming or water aerobics are both excellent ways to improve flexibility and conditioning.
A sedentary lifestyle contributes to muscle weakness, reduced flexibility, and diminished balance/coordination, any of which increase the risk of falling. That is the main point we want to get across in this blog post. Increasing activity levels is one of the, if not THE, most powerful tool we have to combat increasing fall risk in our older population.