How do you feel about falling?

Here's a poem I like about falling:

Trip by Ellen Rowland

A stupid fall, you will say.
Nothing daring or graceful, just a trip
on something insignificant and small while having
successfully avoided the lip of a flat stone
or a protruding root on this same
path for months now. You will scan
your body, noticing where the heat rises
to throb grated skin, swelling shin,
throbbing elbow. You will blow
dirt and grit from the palms of
the hands that braced you, the cool air
of your breath soothing the sting.

You will not hop back up as you once could
but sit or lay with your vulnerability,
this further proof of impermanence
and give thanks, deep gratitude
as you circle wrists, ankles, neck,
that most of you is still in good working order.

On the way home, you will conjure
the names of each bone and tendon spared
with no understanding of when or how
you acquired the knowledge.

When I was discharged from the rehab hospital after my stroke, I was given three rules to follow:

1. Don't fall.
2. Don't fall.
3. Don't fall.

In the ensuing five years, I've only hit the ground once, and that was enough. As I say, "Gravity is a useful servant but a terrible master," something I had learned earlier in life.

I'm a big guy, and with only one side that works well, getting up is not easy.

So maybe I'm too cautious, but "fall" is a four-letter word.

@scottrl What do you do to prevent yourself from falling?

@scottrl
My podiatrist ordered physical therapy for “walking and balance”. Can you believe I earned a basketball scholarship from high school…but that was a few decades ago. Now I’m learning how to walk at 80.
Go figure!

That's a good question! Thanks for asking.

Two parts, especially when I'm away from home:

1. Situational awareness. I pay close attention to the walking surface, like sidewalk cracks, debris, and especially changes in elevation. Even a slight tilt can make me wobbly. I also notice people around me, where they're headed, are they walking a dog, etc. (I listen behind me for the clicking of a dog's claws.) I walk very slowly, so I get overtaken a lot. I'm pretty big, so most people just avoid me, but children and young adults are just oblivious.

2. Self-awareness. For example, I know that as I tire, my foot drop gets worse, which increases my risk of tripping. So I pace myself, and make sure not to walk so far in one direction that I'll be too tired to walk back.

Around the house I feel safer, so I walk faster and more comfortably. But I've still come close to tripping or kicking something. My affected foot can take off in weird directions sometimes!

@scottrl Thank you for taking the time to write this helpful answer. It sounds like constant vigilance is what is needed, and perhaps after a bit that becomes second nature?

You have received helpful advice from those who replied to your question. I am 82 and have been attending a senior active class 3 times a week for 10 years in addition to daily 2 mile walks. My gym teacher, who is 83 now, has a mantra. Don't fall. We do balance, stretching and core strength using bands, weights etc. We have practiced scenarios in class that when and if you do fall, you should be able to get up on your own. So my advice is to practice your balance, keep your core strong so you are able to help yourself if you do fall. If you can find a senior class in a gym near you or a balance class somewhere, I would advise you to learn more about it and go, if you can. You will meet people your age (I don't know how old you are ....just assuming you are not a youngster).

Situational and self awareness is such good advice especially as you age. You have to keep your body strong and your core strong and you can do that with proper exercise. This is so important for everyone. People my age who do have a fall usually end up in rehab or the hospital and many don't ever leave.

Eat healthy, maintain a decent weight, stay aware and move, move move.
FL Mary

@imallears Great advice Mary! I'm so impressed by your activity level and how balanced (play on words intended) your activities are. You are an inspiration!
❤️

I agree with the advice given. I think it’s also important to work on strength and balance. Classes for seniors at gym, physical therapy and yoga with an instructor familiar with seniors are good options to learn and practice it.

Hello!

A question for which many of us have an answer: Have you ever worked with a physical therapist who really understands your particular condition? I have had difficulty finding such a physical therapist. I'm 78, with idiopathic peripheral neuropathy; falling––or I should say, NOT falling––is 24/7 very much on my mind. Fortunately, I've not fallen, not in a long, long time. When doctors get that telltale glint in their eyes ("You may not have a problem then … "), I'm quick to tell them that my not having had a bad fall in recent years is due only to my having earned a Ph.D. in proprioception (I do at-home balance work every day). I want these doctors to understand that my not having fallen requires constant, focused vigilance on my part (which can be exhausting). The physical therapists I've worked with over the years––and they've been a baker's dozen, every one of them concerned, compassionate, and eager to help me––have, the moment they regard me as a person of 78, approached my balance issues as those of most any person of 78 (i.e., "old"). I've had a devil of a time getting them to understand what a person––any person, regardless of age––who has idiopathic peripheral neuropathy feels (or DOESN'T feel in the soles of their feet) begs for a little extra understanding. Certainly, my age is a contributing factor, but my neuropathy is, too, perhaps the chief contributing factor.

I wish us all a good day!
Ray (@ray666)