Taking control of your health is important for seniors, especially when it comes to preventative measure which can help keep you healthy and safe with little extra effort. Balance is one such area where simple, quick preventative steps can make a big difference. Many seniors struggle with maintaining their sense of balance, and a fall can quickly become dangerous. Here are some easy ways to improve your balance and prevent falls.
- Secure your environment. Small wires, corners of rugs, clutter, and any number of things can cause you to trip and fall. Prevent accidents by consciously, intentionally looking for hazards in your nearby environment including your home and pathways.
- Get informed about what messes up your balance. The inner ear interacts with your eyes, brain, and other parts of your body to get your balance right. Dizziness or problems with balance can be caused by a number of issues, especially a disturbance in the inner ear. Here is a informative article to learn a bit more about the physiological aspects of balance.
- Practice makes perfect. Simple little exercises can dramatically improve your balance over time. Some examples of this include standing on one foot for 10-15 seconds while firmly grasping a sturdy chair, or practicing placing one foot directly in line with the other while walking, touching the heel of the foot in front to the toe of the foot behind. For these and more exercises, see this helpful article from NIH Senior Health.
- Stay aware and be cautious. If you start to feel dizzy, now is not the time to walk all the way across the room. Allow yourself to take things slowly, be aware of how you are feeling, sit down or lay down if necessary, and don’t be ashamed to ask for help or utilize appropriate handrails to help yourself get around.
As we said before, prevention is key to avoiding crises and keeping yourself safe. Implementing simple practices such as these may lead to some big improvements in your life! If you are interested in making even more improvements to your senior living, come and tour University Village and see how we can help you, no matter what stage of retirement you are in!
High quality of senior living Tulsa ought to be priority. We can help! Our nursing home Tulsa OK community seeks to meet your needs in the best way possible at University Village. Contact us today!
