Step by Step: Tips for Fall Prevention at Home

January 17, 2019
| Vitality Living

When it comes to healthy aging, quite honestly, there’s a lot to do. You’re supposed to make sure to keep your body active and your brain engaged all while maintaining your social connections as well. Sure, the benefits to your overall well-being are worth the effort, but retirement is supposed to be a time with less responsibility on your plate, right? Well, it turns out that in senior living you can have your cake and eat it too, so to speak. Here’s how programs like our Vivid Life make keeping active, engaged, and connected easy and fun!

Benefits of Healthy Aging

Good things happen when you focus on healthy aging. In addition to feeling better overall, which in and of itself is a win, other benefits of keeping active, engaged, and connected include:

Improved ability to do everyday things
Reduced impact of illness and chronic disease
Enhanced mobility, flexibility, and balance
Improved sleep
Increased energy level
Reduced feelings of depression and stress
Increased feelings of happiness and self-confidence
Reduced risk of cognitive decline
Increased mental adaptability and cognitive reserve
Improved memory recall and problem-solving skills
Improved concentration and attention to detail

How Senior Living Can Help

At home, particularly when living alone, it can be hard to stay as active, engaged, and connected as you’d like. From lack of opportunity to lack of motivation to lack of transportation to mobility challenges, and more, it’s tough, we get it! That’s why we created the Vivid Life program in our senior living communities. It’s composed of three parts: Vibrant Body, Vibrant Brain, and Vibrant Connections. Here’s what each entails:

Vibrant Body – We offer amenities such as a state-of-the-art fitness center, a pool, walking trails, gardening opportunities, and even a dog park to help you stay active. A sample of activities includes:

Walking club – Daily walks at different outdoor locations using pedometers to measure steps.
Yoga – At least once per week for gentle yoga, and once per week for mindful breathing.
Fitness classes – At least two times per week using a variety of hand weights, resistance bands, and circuit-type exercises.
Tai Chi – At least once per week with a live instructor.
Non-traditional exercise – Dancing, gardening, etc. at least two times per week.
Physical games and sports – Golf, putting, bowling, croquet, bocce, and ping pong available daily with organized events one to two times per week.

Vibrant Brain – We offer monthly calendars filled with classes, events, creative arts, and enrichment opportunities to help keep you engaged. A sample of activities includes:

Visiting lecture series – Twice per month with topics such as cultural, historical, local interest, career-oriented, etc.
Creative art series – At least one per week with a theme that runs 3-6 weeks, such as poetry writing, storytelling, painting, digital photography, etc.
Learning series – At least three times per month with an emphasis on learning something new such as foreign language, sign language, technology, hobbies, etc.
Games – At least one time per week and may include poker, bridge, Scrabble, etc.
Mindfulness – A meditation class once per week and gratitude discussion group twice monthly.
Church service – At least once a week through visits by local churches.
Stress reduction – At least once per month class that offers deep breathing exercises, nature walks, music appreciation, spa-type treatments, etc.

Vibrant Connections – We offer resident-led clubs, social events, outings and volunteer opportunities for any interest to help you stay connected. A sample of activities includes:

Outings – At least twice per month and may include going to concerts, art shows, museum visits, theatre productions, etc.
Intergenerational programming – At least once per month and focuses on building relationships between young adults/children and residents.
New resident welcome party – At least once per month to formally introduce all new residents, and includes ice breakers, social games, etc. to encourage connection.
Philanthropic program – At least once per month provide residents the opportunity to give back to the community, such as volunteering for a local food bank or pet shelter.
Resident-led clubs – May include game clubs, professional clubs, common interests, etc. that meet at least monthly.

What’s more, it’s all right outside your door (or transportation is provided offsite) and all in a supportive environment with home maintenance, housekeeping, and restaurant-style dining freeing your time to make it even easier to stay active, engaged, and connected.

Learn more about Vitality Living’s Vivid Life programs. Or find a Vitality Living community near you today to schedule a tour.

According to the CDC, one in four Americans aged 65 and older falls each year. In fact, every 11 seconds an older adult is treated in the emergency room for a fall, making it the leading cause of fatal and non-fatal trauma-related hospital admissions among this group. What’s even more alarming? Falling once doubles your chances of falling again. But just because falls are common among older adults doesn’t mean it has to happen to you, particularly if you follow these tips for fall prevention at home.

The Facts on Falls

One in five falls causes a serious injury such as a head injury, hip fracture or other broken bone leading to over 800,000 hospitalizations a year, as reported by the CDC. The impact of these injuries can make it harder to get around, to continue daily activities, and even to live independently. While not every fall causes a physical injury, there can be a mental toll – the
fear of falling again. In many cases this fear results in a less active lifestyle which can lead to physical decline and an even greater risk of falling, as well as depression and isolation.

Risk Factors for Falls

Older adults are more at risk for falls due to a variety of reasons. These include:

Muscle weakness
Vitamin D deficiency
Difficulty with balance or walking
Use of medications that can cause dizziness or unsteadiness
Foot pain or improper footwear
Trip hazards in the home

Often it’s a combination of risk factors that can cause falls.

Fall Prevention at Home

Although age can affect vision, strength and balance, falls are not a natural part of aging and in many cases can be prevented with these proactive measures.

Have your doctor evaluate your risk for falling and keep up with all preventative health visits.

Review your medications with your pharmacist and doctor. With older adults taking more than one-third of the prescriptions drugs in America and the average patient taking more than five prescription medications according to MD Magazine, it’s crucial to be aware of side effects and potential interactions.

Improve strength and balance through exercise and/or if necessary, ask your doctor to recommend a physical therapist.

See an eye doctor once a year and clean glasses and/or contacts regularly.

Conduct a home safety assessment through a home care agency or geriatric care manager. You can also make your home safer with these small changes:

Make sure walking paths and stairs are free of clutter. Keep electrical cords near walls and away from walkways. Remove throw rugs and check to ensure all carpets and large area rugs are firmly attached to the floor.
Arrange furniture so it’s out of walkways, and make sure sofas and chairs are the right height to easily get in and out.
In the kitchen, purchase a reach stick or sturdy step stool with a bar to hold on to if you frequently access items on high shelves.
In the bedroom, have a light near the bed and proper lighting along the path from your bed to the bathroom.
In the bathroom, get a non-slip rubber mat or self- stick strips on the floor of the tub or shower, use a shower chair if necessary and install grab bars to assist you in getting in/out of the tub or up from the toilet.

Make your home more accessible by ensuring you have the appropriate mobility devices to maneuver around the home safely. In addition, you may need to make home modifications to install ramps, make the doorways wide enough for these devices and/or add a chair lift.

Invest in a fall notification system (emergency response system) which is a wearable call button that puts you in touch with help in the event of a fall. At a minimum, keep your cell phone with you at all times and/or have a telephone near your bed, in the kitchen or anywhere you spend time.

Fall Prevention Made Simple in Senior Living

There’s no way to completely prevent falls in any setting, but if you lack the time, the budget or the ability to take these steps in reducing your risk at home, it could be time to consider senior living.

Senior living communities are designed specifically for older adults with safety features such as fall notification systems, grab bars, ramps and other fall prevention measures as standard. They also offer many additional benefits that include social opportunities, amenities, daily support and onsite medical care.

For more information on our senior living communities, contact us or schedule a tour of a community near you today!

Caregiver Support, Healthy Living

Vitality Living

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