Decreasing Fall Risk With Physical Therapy
Don’t Let Yourself Live in Fear of Falling!
Have you ever felt unbalanced, dizzy, or unsteady, as though you could fall over at any moment? Have you ever tripped and fallen? Are you worried about the risk of having a fall-related injury? If this is the case, you are not alone and may be in need of a fall prevention program developed by Oklahoma Hand & Physical Therapy in Tulsa, OK.
Most people don’t think about keeping their balance in shape until it’s too late and they’ve sustained a hard fall. The good news is that most falls can easily be avoided, simply by exercising your balance system regularly.
Falls are the leading cause of fatal and non-fatal accidents in older adults. Every year, one-third of the population over 65 experiences some sort of fall. In 2013, more than 2.5 million people were treated in emergency departments for non-fatal injuries, according to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC).
Contact our Tulsa, OK physical therapy clinic today if you fear that you are at risk of falling, so we can help you find the source of your problem and deal with it accordingly.
Common symptoms associated with fall risk
It is important to note that you should also contact a physical therapist if you have any of the following symptoms:
- Nausea or vomiting
- Arm or leg weakness
- Abnormal eye movements
- Difficulty standing up from a seated position or standing for prolonged periods
- Dizziness or vertigo (“spinning” sensations, even when remaining still)
- Inability to focus or remain alert
- Double vision or tunnel vision
If you have any of these symptoms, physical therapy could greatly benefit you and help prevent the risk of falling.
Conditions that increase fall risk
Our Tulsa, OK physical therapist will assess your medical history to determine how many risk factors toward falling you may have.
They will educate you on what these factors mean, as well as steps you can take to decrease your risk.
After this, they will perform a thorough physical evaluation to figure out what the best treatment plan for you will be.
Some people have a higher risk of falling than others. Certain risk factors include:
- Heart disease
- Advanced age
- Fatigue
- Living a sedentary life
- Overall poor health
- Vertigo or dizziness
- Being female
- Parkinson’s disease
- Alzheimer’s disease
- Previous history of falls
- Diabetes
- Previous stroke or heart attack
- Arthritis or alternative joint pain
- Problems with vision
- Problems with walking or staying balanced
What will a fall prevention PT plan look like?
Your initial physical examination at Oklahoma Hand and Physical Therapy in Tulsa, OK may consist of several components to help decide what your weaknesses are.
Vision tests, thought tests, resting heart rate checks, active heart rate checks, and assessments of your gait, balance, range of motion, and strength can all be performed.
Based on the results of this evaluation, our physical therapist will design a treatment plan for your specific needs.
These plans are aimed first and foremost at reducing your risk of falling, but they will also aid you in improving balance, strength, flexibility, endurance, and overall movement.
Some common forms of treatment include:
Strength training.
Endurance training.
Pain management.
Balance training.
Walking and moving programs.
How does physical therapy help decrease fall risk?
A recently published systematic review by Cochrane, comprising more than 100 randomized controlled trials, supports exercise interventions as an effective method of treatment for patients at increased risk of falling. The average age of the patients in this review was 76, and 77% of the patients were female.
The risk of fall-related fractures decreased by 27 percent and the number of falls that required medical attention decreased by 39 percent. Fall risk was also reduced by 21-24 percent in this group, depending on whether individual or group treatments had been performed.
Results concluded that those who participated in exercise interventions had a 23 percent drop in fall risk compared to the control group.
Concluding statements by the authors showed that overall, “Exercise reduces both the rate of falls… and the number of people experiencing falls.”Find relief with physical therapy
Hear From Happy Clients of Ours
Please take a moment to enjoy hearing of other people, who like you, came in to see the team at Oklahoma Hand and Physical Therapy – and left much happier