Are You at Risk for a Fall-Related Injury?

Get Back on Your Feet with Physical Therapy

Did you know that one in three adults over the age of 65 experiences a fall each year? Every 11 seconds, an older adult is rushed to the emergency room due to a fall, and every 19 minutes, an older adult dies from fall-related injuries.

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According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), over 2.5 million adults were treated for nonfatal fall injuries in emergency departments in 2013. Falls are the leading cause of both fatal and nonfatal injuries among older adults. Many people don’t think about maintaining their balance until it’s too late, and they experience a serious fall. The good news is that most falls can be prevented through regular balance exercises and targeted physical therapy.

If you have recently had a balance-related injury or are experiencing symptoms such as:

  • Dizziness or vertigo (a “spinning” sensation even when still)
  • Difficulty focusing or staying alert
  • Double vision or tunnel vision
  • Nausea or vomiting
  • Weakness in your arms or legs
  • Unusual eye movements
  • Trouble standing up from a seated position or standing for long periods

it’s important to seek help from a physical therapist right away.

Do you often feel unsteady, dizzy, or worried about falling? Have you experienced a fall in the past? If you’re concerned about your risk for a fall-related injury, contact Snyder Physical Therapy today. We’ll help identify the root cause of your balance issues and design a treatment plan to keep you steady and safe.

Our Tower City, PA therapists are ready to support you in regaining your balance and confidence.

Am I at Risk of Falling?

Certain people are more likely to experience falls due to various risk factors, including:

  • Advanced age
  • Being female
  • Living a sedentary lifestyle
  • Previous history of falls
  • Vertigo or dizziness
  • Parkinson’s disease
  • Alzheimer’s disease
  • Heart disease
  • Diabetes
  • Previous stroke or heart attack
  • Arthritis or other joint pain
  • Vision problems
  • Difficulties with walking or maintaining balance
  • Fatigue
  • Overall poor health

Your physical therapist will review your medical history to identify how many of these risk factors apply to you. They will explain what these factors mean and guide you on steps to lower your fall risk. Afterward, a thorough physical evaluation will be performed to determine the most effective treatment plan tailored to you.

How Will Physical Therapy Help Reduce My Fall Risk?

A recent systematic review by Cochrane, analyzing over 100 randomized controlled trials, supports exercise as an effective intervention for reducing fall risk. The average age of participants was 76, with 77% being women.

Key findings include:

  • A 23% reduction in falls among those who engaged in exercise compared to controls
  • A 21-24% decrease in fall risk depending on whether treatments were individual or group-based
  • A 27% reduction in fall-related fractures
  • A 39% decrease in falls requiring medical attention

The authors concluded that, overall, “Exercise reduces both the rate of falls and the number of people experiencing falls.”

At Snyder Physical Therapy, your initial evaluation may include vision and cognitive tests, resting and active heart rate measurements, and assessments of gait, balance, range of motion, and strength.

Using these results, your therapist will create a personalized treatment plan focused on lowering your fall risk while improving balance, strength, flexibility, endurance, and overall mobility. Common treatment methods may include:

Pain management

If you are feeling painful anywhere, it will be one of the first things addressed in your treatment plan. Your physical therapist will want to make sure that your treatment is as comfortable as possible, so you will work together on relieving pain first, before continuing into any other forms of physical activity that may bring you discomfort.

Walking and moving programs

This part of your treatment plan is aimed at getting you back to your normal physical function when walking and/or moving. Your physical therapist may ask you to perform certain activities, such as walking in a circle or completing an obstacle course.

Balance training

Balance is a large part of fall prevention, as lack of stability is one of the main reasons why falls occur. Your physical therapist will design a balance training plan for you as part of your treatment, and may ask you to perform certain balance-based activities, such as standing on one leg or holding your balance while performing a mentally-stimulating task (such as reciting the alphabet or reading a page from a book.)

Strength training

Strength training is typically paired with your balance training. Your physical therapist will design a strength training plan for you, which will focus on specific muscle groups in need of improvement. The goal of this will be to improve your standing and walking balance, as well as your ability to recover from a loss of balance.

Endurance training

Endurance training is all about working up to more advanced levels of the same form of treatment. Your physical therapist will provide you with an aerobic exercise program and will slowly add on time to those exercises as your endurance improves. For example, your endurance training may begin at 10-minute sessions and then may progress to 30-minute sessions.

Ready to Get Back on Your Feet?

Are you ready to improve your balance and reduce your risk of fall-related injuries? Contact us today to schedule an appointment! We provide expert balance and fall prevention services in Tower City, PA, proudly serving the surrounding communities of Williamstown, Dayton, and Elizabethville, PA.