Falls are one of the leading causes of injury and death among older adults. While some falls can be attributed to health issues such as arthritis or balance problems, others may occur for reasons your aging parent has no control over. Whether you have an elderly parent or are caring for one yourself, these balance exercises to prevent falls will help ensure they stay safe on their feet throughout their life.
The Importance Of Balance In Preventing Falls In Aging Parents
One of the essential reasons balance is so important to your aging parent is to ensure their safety. If an older adult loses their balance and falls, it can cause injuries that take a long time to heal—if they heal at all. This can slow down recovery and make mobility more difficult. Falls also put them at risk for severe further injury, including broken bones and head injuries that may require surgery or hospitalization.
While you’re working hard to keep your elderly loved one safe from accidents caused by poor balance, they should also consider how their lifestyle habits might affect their ability to maintain balance. For example, if they’re suffering from a medical condition such as arthritis or diabetes (and many other conditions), treating these diseases with medication might help improve their physical abilities as well as reduce any pain associated with them so they can move around more easily without feeling stiff or sore afterward!
Tightrope Walk
This exercise is more complicated than it looks. It requires you to balance on one foot while holding your arms straight out from your sides and walking in a straight line forward.
- Your parent should slowly lift their back leg off the ground, keeping their weight centered over the front foot. Then they should pause for one or two seconds, then place it back down carefully before continuing with another step.
Tightrope Walk aims to help prevent falls by developing strength and balance in both legs!
Rock The Boat
This one is self-explanatory, but it will help keep your core engaged and allow you to keep your balance.
- Place your feet hip-width apart
- Press down on both feet so that they’re firmly planted on the ground
- Slowly transfer weight toward one side by moving each foot at different times (left then right or vice versa). As you do this, ensure that both legs remain straight and don’t bend at any point during this exercise! We as humans need to maintain our posture when we are standing still – bending at the knees could cause a loss of control over our bodies which could lead us to fall unexpectedly, which would be embarrassing!
- Hold your leg up in the air while maintaining balance until it’s time for another rep on that side before switching again.
Heel-Toe Walk
- Stand with your arms straight by your sides and your eyes fixed on a point about two feet in front of you.
- Place one foot directly in front of the other, making sure that the heel of your front foot is lined up with the toes of your back foot.
- Bend at both knees and bring them together (like a little kid playing “bowling”). Then take a step forward with the leg closest to you; it should land slightly ahead of where it started.
- Try keeping both arms straight with hands by sides so they can help balance if needed. If possible, keep your head still without bobbing up and down while walking. Repeat these steps 20 times on each side three times a day!
Flamingo Stand
The flamingo stand is a great way to improve balance, increase strength and flexibility in the lower body and work on posture. It’s also easy to do at home.
- Stand with your back straight, holding onto the back of a chair for stability.
- Lift one leg up in front of you so that it is parallel to the floor and slowly raise it up until your foot is fully extended. Hold this position for 10 seconds before lowering it down slowly (don’t let it touch). Repeat this exercise on each leg five times daily for the best results!
