Challenges of Aging

Issues of Balance, Falling, Getting Up and Down from a Chair

Joan Kauffman 4-28-2019

As we age, we begin to have decreased balance responses from vestibular, visual, and proprioceptive systems, creating an increased potential for loss of balance and falling. Statistics show that falling is a leading cause of injury-related death for those over 65. More than 1 out of 4 older adults fall annually; 20% of these falls result in serious injury. Decreases in strength, change of gait, and side effects from medications can all cause instability. Besides the immobility that results from falling, there is a huge psychological impact—the fear of falling. In this presentation, we’ll do a variety of activities you can use with clients, in classes, and for yourself. For example, we’ll challenge our balance reflex by relearning and strengthening our automatic responses to instability, which in turn proactively stimulates our nerve cells to activate muscles. We’ll see a demonstration and then practice/role play assisting an aging or injured person to increase their ability to stand from sitting in a chair to decrease their anxiety, and increase a sense of self-reliance and well-being. This presentation will include a handout on related effects of various types of medications that you can take home and refer to when working with older or less mobile clients.

Joan Kauffman, CHSE attended Wave 4. Joan practiced as a Public Health Nurse for over 20 years. HSE has been an important tool she has offered to educate and enhance her clients’ and students’ understanding and ability to maintain and improve their health and wellbeing. She continues to teach classes to the community on Lopez Island where she lives.