Can you guess the number one reason people come to see us at LifeMotion Balance Center? If you guessed a recent fall – you’re right! It certainly gets most people’s attention and can be very scary. Here are some startling fall statistics:
- According to the CDC, one out of five falls causes a serious injury such as broken bones or a head injury.
- Each year 3 million older people are treated in emergency departments for fall injuries.
- Over 800,000 patients a year are hospitalized because of a fall injury, most often because of a head injury or hip fracture.
Everyone that comes to us wants to know: Can you help keep me from falling?
The answer is yes! New research is emerging on perturbation training, something that works on reactive balance, to reduce your chance of falling. Reactive balance training (RBT) improves your balance reactions and might help you respond to a loss of balance to prevent a fall in daily life*. In fact some promising studies are showing that RBT reduces the rate of falls in daily life by almost 50% among people with increased fall risk!
As we age, signals from our brain to body slow and strength surrounding the muscles of the ankles and hips declines. Thus our reactive balance slows. This is where physical therapists, who specialize in fall prevention, design specific training to enhance reactivity and improve muscle strength. Not only that, physical therapists design drills to handle obstacles and distractions in the environment improving your balance and confidence.
So what does that mean for you? A more life of more confidence and freedom to do the things you love like travel, family get togethers, and exercise. If you or a loved one are concerned about falling or want to work to avoid a decline in your balance, schedule a consult with one of our expert physical therapists today!
