Connect
← Return to Having trouble keeping your balance?
Discussion
Having trouble keeping your balance?
Aging Well | Last Active: Nov 28, 2022 | Replies (63)Comment receiving replies
Hi @dreamer38, thank you for the private message. I thought I would answer it in this discussion so that you could meet other members concerned about balance issues and falling.
Your question was you have had PMR since last Oct and been on Prednisone. You have fallen three times and have been told it’s the Prednisone. Nothing has broken but the bruises are awful and very painful! The grazings are nasty too. Do you have any helpful ideas?
I have no medical training but have had 2 occurrences of PMR and I stumble once in awhile. I also have osteopenia (thin bones) and have the same concern you do about bones breaking easily. I would first discuss it with your doctor to see if he has any suggestions or recommendations on supplements in case you have thin bones which makes falls worse for you. There are a lot of easy exercises you can do to help with the balance issues.
I'm tagging @becsbuddy @dorisena @helenr @lioness and @grandmar to see if they can offer some balance exercise suggestions for you.
Replies to "Hi @dreamer38, thank you for the private message. I thought I would answer it in this..."
I am fortunate to have strong bones and always wanted to have physical fitness but never worked on it until my forties. I drank lots of milk all my life and was determined to never get osteoporosis. I stretched my vertebrae to cure pinched nerves and a herniated disc and read books on sports. I learned to glide on one foot as a beginning ice skater in my forties and that is where I became proficient in balance. You must think of having a string in a straight line down your body and then you slowly shift the body in a straight line to the left or right, using the other foot close to the body as a rudder for the balance. I also stretched my leg up on the kitchen counter while waiting for supper to be ready in a spiral position like the fancy skaters do. I tightened my core muscles which is important for everything.
Skip sitting on the balls at the gym or standing on those flat, floppy discs because you will probably fall, as I did. You don't need much shift in the body to balance on one foot. Just a little bit, depending on how much extra fat you are carrying. Dorisena
Connect
Good Morning @dreamer38
I have been dealing with balance issues for a few years, now.
Over the last few, I have fallen a few times.
The last time, I fell in front of my 7 year old granddaughter.