Holistic Ways to Reduce Your Fall Risk

As people get older and hit 65 years of age or above, the risk of falling becomes a very big concern. In fact, one in four adults over 65 sustain a fall each year. While only 20% of these falls results in serious injury, experiencing one fall significantly increases your risk for future falls. The most common injuries sustained from a fall include hip fracture and head injury. These injuries often require hospitalization and put a major burden on the healthcare system. Thus, minimizing fall risk is important for boosting quality of life and reducing financial burden.

Risk Factors for Falling

There are several factors that experts have determined increase your risk for falling. When two or more of these factors exist at once, your risk goes up significantly. Risk factors include:

• Poor gait mechanics (walking)
• Anxiety and fear of falling
• Vision impairments
• Poor balance
• Low endurance and muscle strength
• Blood pressure issues- particularly hypotension and dizziness with moving from lying down to sitting or standing
• Medication side effects that cause brain fog, dizziness, sleepiness and more
• Poor general health
• Sedentary lifestyle

How to Reduce Your Fall Risk

No one wants to live in fear of falling. Luckily, there are some simple ways to decrease your fall risk while also boosting your overall health and vitality. These options include the following:

• Talk to a trusted health professional about your concerns
• Review medications with your pharmacist or doctor- particularly ones that make you feel sleepy or dizzy
• Regular exercise
• Balance exercises in a safe environment
• Leg and core strengthening
• Have a physical therapist or recreational therapy assess your home for safety and possible tripping hazards
• Get your vision checked regularly- at least every two years

How Spine Health Can Help

One of the biggest issues that an older person may face when trying to reduce their fall risk is actually getting started. Often, pain, stiffness, and poor general health make motivation low to even make any changes. Thus, holistically restoring balance to the body will make the biggest difference in boosting overall health while also reducing fall risk. The building block for good health starts at the root issue of spine alignment. Spine misalignment leads to poor nerve energy, which inhibits normal bodily function. This can manifest as many of the common issues that elderly face, such as poor balance, weakness, pain, and more.

Seeking holistic spine alignment care from a chiropractor is a great way to address your health while reducing fall risk. A Chiropractic BioPhysics (CBP) practitioner is specialized in non-invasively and systematically restoring spine alignment. Once these underlying issues are addressed, the opportunity to focus on other impairments that are increasing your fall risk can be extremely beneficial.

Chiropractic BioPhysics for Boosting Your Health

Find a CBP provider in your area. Talk to them about any health concerns you’re facing, including falls. Then, you can work with your chiropractor to create a treatment program with regular checkups that will optimize your health and keep you off the floor!