In your role as a family caregiver one of the most important things that you can do is help your aging parent stay as safe and healthy as possible. One of the most impactful ways that you can do this is to help them to reduce fall risk. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report that millions of older adults suffer falls each year, and 20 to 30 percent will experience severe injuries as a result of them. This makes falls the leading cause of non-fatal injuries among elderly adults. While there are many issues that can contribute to an elderly adult falling, the most pressing is balance issues.
September 18 through 24 is Balance Awareness Week. This is the ideal time for you to learn more about balance, how it impacts your senior, and what you can do to help your parent achieve and maintain better balance throughout their later years.
Some things that you should know about balance and how it impacts your parent include:
• There are nearly 30 million falls among senior adults each year
• There are many different types of balance problems, including those that make a person dizzy, those that make them unstable, and those that impact gait or movement
• Normal balance is influenced by various different systems throughout the body, including the muscles, joints, blood vessels, and inner ears
• Most balance problems are related to the vestibular system
• In elderly adults, arthritis, joint weakness, and similar problems can be the cause of balance problems
• Balance impacts not just your parent’s stability when walking, climbing stairs, and performing similar tasks, but also their ability to correct themselves should they stumble
Starting senior care for your aging parent can be one of the best decisions that you make for them in the course of your caregiver journey. A senior home care services provider can be with your parent on a customized schedule to ensure that they have access to all of the care, support, and assistance that they need while still fostering a sense of independence and keeping you at the front of their care routine. Through a highly personalized set of services, this care provider can address your parent’s individual challenges, limitations, and needs in a way that is right for them. This helps them to stay safe, healthy, comfortable, and happy, and to pursue a lifestyle that is as active, engaged, and fulfilling as possible as they age in place. As a family caregiver this gives you confidence and peace of mind that your parent is getting everything that they need both when you are with them and when you are not able to be.
http://vestibular.org/BAW
https://www.cdc.gov/media/releases/2016/p0922-older-adult-falls.html
http://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/balance-problems/home/ovc-20166187
For senior care in Cherry Hill, NJ, and the surrounding areas, call and talk to us at Home to Stay Healthcare Solutions (856) 321-1500.
