Recipe of the Week

Fun, Facts & Fitness from Mary Morris MSc.

A recent item covered on breakfast television caught my attention as I was fascinated to see a group of older people being trained in 'how to fall'. What a brilliant idea, I thought, so I immediately set about researching it. 

Rosemary has recently made you aware of the need for good balance and muscle strength since her operation on her foot, emphasising how important it is to exercise regularly if we are to prevent a fall in the first place, but this ‘how to fall’ information explores the techniques necessary to minimise the damage, reducing the potential injury we might find ourself experiencing if we have a fall that we simply cannot avoid. So, let's work at trying to minimise that damage.
 

Some Unsettling Facts about Falls

• Public Health England reported that in 2017 - 2018 there were 220,160 emergency hospital admissions related to falls among patients aged 65 and over, with more than 60% of those in the over-80 age group. This is not counting the number of falls that must occur not requiring medical attention but that can leave the person shocked and lacking confidence for fear it might happen again.
   
• Falls are one of the highest causes of long-term disability among older adults, often leading to them needing full-time care in a care home.
   
• The outlook is generally poor for hip fractures with a 33% increase in the risk of death within the first year due to other health complications. As an older person, once you are off your feet your health can deteriorate rapidly.
   
• A prolonged deficiency of Vitamin D leads to low blood calcium resulting in softer bones which break more easily if we have a fall. Strong bones are far less likely to break in the event of a fall so we need to keep up our Vitamin D intake

What conditions make you more likely to have a fall?

• Muscle Weakness. This applies particularly if the weakness is in the lower body. If we can keep our lower-body muscles strong then we may be able to avoid having a fall in the first place and if our upper body muscles are strong then it makes it easier to get back up if we do fall. Basically, we need to keep our entire body strong!
   
• Vision Issues. Having regular eyesight checks is vital as falls can happen because we don’t see an obstacle or hole in the ground.
   
• Improper footwear. Only yesterday I met one of my class members who had not made it to my class this week as she had a fall wearing a kitten-heel. Maybe those days are behind us as we get older and thank goodness for ballet flats and for trainers being so fashionable!
   
• Uneven Surfaces. Indoors, beware of hazards like loose rugs or wet floors. Outdoors, we should keep our eye on the ground checking for uneven surfaces. However, we must try to keep our posture upright. We can still look down whilst keeping our shoulders back and head up! Poor posture also changes our centre of gravity, increasing our risk of a fall.

So, let's fully explore what we need to do to minimise causing real harm to ourselves. Firstly, it is important to be aware that it is possible to learn to control a fall. In the split-second or so that it takes to fall, it is possible to have a ‘micro conversation’ with ourself and consciously decide to fall in a way that reduces the impact on the body.


TUCK, SIT AND ROLL!

These three actions form the basis for falling safely, but what I have learned is that, as with anything, it needs practise to embed these movements into our muscle memory bank – hence the need for training so our body's reaction will be instinctive. 

1. The Tuck
   What you want to avoid more than anything with a fall is damaging the head so our first thought must be to protect it. Placing the hands behind the head and tucking the chin to your chest is your first port of call.
    
2. Sit Down
   Our aim is to land on the fleshier parts of the body so that basically means our backside, and ideally to one side so we avoid damaging our spine. Sit down quickly with our feet as close to the body as possible. Basically though, whichever way we find ourself falling, we should try to turn so we end up going down bottom first.
    
3. Roll
   With our head now tucked in and falling towards our bottom, bend arms and legs so we roll into the fall, spreading the impact as it moves from the back of the hips into the shoulders. It should feel like we are falling sideways.

Now all this is easy to write about, but as already intimated, it needs practise. I have discovered an excellent website called 'Fearless Falling' which clearly demonstrates in slow motion how best to fall. Go to www.fearlessfalling.com as it is definitely worth a look. It also illustrates what to do if we have a simple trip and find ourselves falling forward.

Falls can happen anytime, anyplace no matter how hard we work to avoid them. I recently met my sister-in-law for lunch and was shocked to see her face was black and blue from falling over the dog! She has recovered well as she is a fit and strong 72-year-old, but anyone less so may have suffered far more serious consequences.

1. Let's concentrate on your leg strength. Do a whole-body strength programme 3 times this week, but add those sit-to-stands 10 times every day. Try The 28-Day Immunity Plan workouts, starting at a level that challenges you. Or go to our Strength and Toning Exercises page and do either the Standing Band / Standing Weights Workouts or the Floor Band / Floor Weights Workouts.
    
2. Balance is key to fall prevention so stand on one leg every time you brush your teeth this week. Or do the Balance Exercises from our website.
    
3. Test your posture against a wall. With heels just 2 inches from the wall and the back of the hips and the shoulder blades touching as well, see if you can also touch with the back of your head.  Get someone to tell you how far away it is if you can't. Too much FHP (forward head position) increases your risk of falling!
    
4. Remember your 30+minutes’ walk every day, and challenge yourself by increasing your speed or the incline, or both!

Did you know... 

It's a well known fact that cats always land on their feet when they fall so how do they do that?

A kitten's righting reflex begins to appear at 3 - 4 weeks of age, and is perfected by the time they are 6 - 9 weeks old. They are able to do this because they have an unusually flexible backbone and no functional collarbone. The tail seems to help but cats without a tail also have this ability, since a cat mostly turns by moving its legs and twisting its spine in a certain sequence.

1. They bend in the middle so that the front half of their body rotates independently from their rear half.
2. They tuck their front legs in and extend their rear legs so that they can rotate their front by as much as 90° while the rear half rotates in the opposite direction as little as 10°.
3. They extend their front legs and tuck their rear legs in so that they can rotate their rear half further while their front half rotates in the opposite direction less.