Poor balance is a common complaint amongst my tai chi students. We all know that tai chi will help improve balance, but how long does that take? Too long! Once class a week isn’t going to help you much. Once class a week plus home practice at least 3 times a week is much better, but I know many of you are not doing that (no judgement here, it’s just how it is). But when it comes to balance and falls prevention, we really should get serious.
A stumble where you sprain your ankle might not be too bad, but a fall where you break a hip can be quite devastating to your health, fitness and even your mortality. The stats around hip fractures in those over 65 are horrifying. One year after a fracture of the hip or femur, around 40-50% of patients will be dead and the rest are generally not doing well. (Source: Peter Attia and Mike Joyner Podcast) The stats vary, but the message remains: don’t break your hip. Do everything you can to avoid breaking your hip.
The other body part you don’t want to injure is your brain. Do everything you can to avoid falling and hitting your head. You don’t want concussion, you don’t want a traumatic brain injury.
The Australian Government has a website of statistics on falls in Australia. A couple of things really stand out. The most common cause of fall injury resulting in hospitalisation is “slipping, tripping or stumbling on the same level”. That’s just walking around on a flat ground and being able to pick up your foot high enough to avoid the lifted pathway or tree root or piece of Lego on the carpet. The highest rate of injury doesn’t come from doing anything risky, it’s doing what we all do everyday.
Another startling, although not surprising, fact is the massive increase in falls in the 65+ age group. I mean massive.
And then there’s a breakdown of the main body parts injured. 28% injure the head, 27% break a hip or leg, and 23% injure the shoulder and arm. All of these injuries will affect quality of life significantly.
Do you need any more inspiration to get a bit fitter and stronger? Hopefully not but here’s one more point just in case: 70% of 70-year-olds can not get up off the floor by themselves. That horrifying statistic also comes from the Peter Attia and Mike Joyner podcast referenced above. Falling is bad enough, but not being able to get up again? The implications of that are very sobering and distressing.
So let’s all get cracking on working on falls prevention shall we? Yes!
The sequence I’ve put together is heavily inspired by the Otago Exercise Program which has had excellent results from many studies done since 2002. It is worth reading the manual if you’d like to know more about that program. My video has a few of the Otago exercises along with a selection of others.
All of these exercises will help strengthen the muscles associated with balance: the gluteals, quadriceps, hamstrings, calves, shin (front and sides) and feet. This program is entry level – there are no weights, we are just using body weight as resistance. If you are able to go through this program and feel that it’s easy, then that’s terrific, you can move up to the next level and challenge yourself a bit more. If you find this program quite hard, then great, you’ve come to the right place!
Start conservatively and listen to your body. Some stiffness and soreness in the working muscles is very common if you haven’t worked them much before. They’re not used to it and need time to adapt. This is called DOMS, Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness, and can last for a couple of days. Once you’ve done the program for a couple of weeks you may not feel any DOMS at all. If you have muscle soreness 3 days after doing the program then it was too much activity and you need to back off a bit.
Start with once or twice a week depending on your physical condition. If you can’t get to 10 repetitions without fatiguing too much, that’s fine, start at 8 or 6 or whatever works for you. That’s your starting point and you’ll be able to do more reps as you get stronger. Don’t push through pain, back off and be patient. Better to be conservative than to flare up a cranky joint and end up in more pain.
Listen to your body and adapt where needed. But don’t give up. Talk to your physiotherapist or doctor or allied health professional if you need to, but don’t do nothing. Falls prevention is too important.