The Importance of a Good Fall Prevention Plan
Did you know that falls are among the biggest risks to older adults? As we age, we go through several physical, cognitive, and sensory changes that can significantly impact our balance. An impaired balance means a higher chance of falling–and a higher chance of falling makes it more likely that you might suffer a severe injury.
Fortunately, there are several things you can do to improve your balance, no matter your age. At Peak Physical Therapy and Sports Performance, we offer dedicated fall prevention plans to address your fall-related risk factors. We’ll help you improve your strength, balance, and stability to stay healthy and active throughout your golden years!
To illustrate just how important a good fall prevention plan is, we want to share the stories of two patients, whom we’ll call Janice and Carol. Janice underwent a dedicated fall prevention plan; Carol didn’t.
You can also call us if you’d like more personalized information!
We’re Hiring – Join Our Caring Team!
At Peak Physical Therapy and Sports Performance, we believe in empowering lives through movement, compassion, and purpose. We’re currently hiring talented individuals who share our values of caring deeply, growing forward, leading the way, and creating joy. Whether you’re a licensed therapist, support staff, or passionate about wellness, there could be a place for you here. If you want to make a real difference in people’s lives and join a mission-driven team, visit our Careers page to see open roles.
Carol’s Story:
Shaken Confidence and One Bad Injury
Carol was 68 when she first visited us. Although she’d been fairly active when she was younger, she developed knee osteoarthritis in her early 60s, which led to her becoming much more sedentary. Her pain and restricted mobility caused her to fall and break her hip, and she worked with us on her rehabilitation.
We were understandably concerned about Carol’s fall risk, as she met several of the criteria:
- A history of falls (falling once doubles the likelihood that you’ll fall again)
- Weak legs and core
- Knee pain and impaired gait from osteoarthritis
Unfortunately, Carol’s insurance limited how frequently she could see a physical therapist, and rehabilitating her hip injury was her primary concern. While we did work with her to restore her strength and balance to where it was before her injury, she ran out of sessions before we could develop it further.
However, perhaps the biggest issue for Carol was that her fall and subsequent injury really shook her confidence. While she felt safe performing exercises in our clinic, she worried about performing them at home, fretting that she would injure herself–or worse, fall again. As a result, she sank back into her sedentary lifestyle, which only worsened her arthritis symptoms and made it more likely that she would fall again.
If we’d been able to continue working with Carol, we could have improved her physical balance and helped build her confidence, too. How do we know this? Because it’s what happened with Janice.
Maximize Your Insurance Benefits Before the Year Ends!
As the end of the year approaches, it’s the perfect time to check on your insurance deductible and make the most of your physical therapy benefits. Many insurance plans reset on January 1st, which means any unused benefits may not roll over. If you’ve already met your deductible, your out-of-pocket costs for physical therapy could be significantly reduced—or even fully covered—for the remainder of the year.
Why It Matters:
- Insurance deductibles often reset annually
- You may be eligible for more covered visits now
- It’s a smart time to complete your treatment plan
- Avoid losing benefits you’ve already paid into
If you’re not sure where you stand with your deductible, our team is happy to help you verify your insurance and answer any questions.
Janice’s Story:
Dedicated Fall Prevention to the Rescue
Janice’s background is strikingly similar to Carol’s. She was a little older when she developed osteoarthritis (late 60s), and she suffered her big fall when she was 73. Again, she initially visited us so we could help rehabilitate her after her injury.
Like Carol, Janice’s confidence was shattered by her fall. However, she noticed that working with us made her feel more confident in exercising and being generally active. After she finished her rehabilitation, she indicated she would like to continue with physical therapy. We were delighted to oblige!
We immediately suggested that Janice focus on a dedicated fall prevention plan, and we created a customized program that addressed her specific needs:
- Pain management helped control her osteoarthritis pain so she could work through her exercises.
- We continued the strength training program we had developed for her rehabilitation to restore strength throughout her lower body and core–crucial muscles in controlling balance.
- Focused balance training targeted the skills she needed most. We started her off with exercises that challenged her balance without putting her at risk, then increased the intensity as she improved (and Janice loved seeing her progress).
- Through gait training, we helped Janice improve her walking pattern, which had become impaired due to her OA pain. An improved gait helped her increase her overall mobility.
By the end of her program, Janice no longer feared falling the way she had before. In fact, she even enrolled in a local Tai Chi class to continue working on her strength and balance in a fun, supportive environment.
Can Balance Training Help You?
If you’re an older adult with multiple fall risk factors, a fall prevention program at Peak Physical Therapy and Sports Performance is the key to staying healthy and active. Call us today to learn more!
Regain Your Balance with Vestibular Therapy
Do you ever feel dizzy, unsteady, or like the room is spinning? These sensations may be caused by issues within your vestibular system = the part of your inner ear and brain that helps control balance and eye movements. When it’s not working properly, even simple movements like standing up, walking, or turning your head can make you feel off-balance.
At Peak Physical Therapy, our vestibular therapy program is designed to help you regain stability and confidence. Our specially trained physical therapists perform a thorough evaluation to identify the cause of your dizziness or imbalance, whether it’s due to benign paroxysmal positional vertigo (BPPV), vestibular neuritis, post-concussion symptoms, or other balance disorders.
Treatment may include specific head and eye exercises, balance retraining, and techniques to reposition crystals in the inner ear when needed. Over time, these exercises help your brain and body work together again to improve stability, reduce dizziness, and prevent falls.
If dizziness or imbalance is affecting your daily life, you don’t have to live with it, vestibular therapy can help you feel grounded again. Contact us today to schedule an assessment and start your journey toward steady footing.
Not Seeing Results?
Don’t Get Discouraged!
The Peak Physical Therapy and Sports Performance team loves sharing our patients’ success stories. However, we also realize that for every success, other patients are struggling with their program–patients who feel like they aren’t progressing quickly enough or who think that even their best effort isn’t good enough.
In short, patients who become discouraged.
As much as we don’t want any of our patients to feel discouraged, we know that it sometimes does happen. That’s why we wanted to share a few of our favorite tips for staying positive as you work through physical therapy.
Three Techniques to Help Avoid Feeling Discouraged
Know Your Why
There’s a reason you sought out PT in the first place. Maybe you want to spend more time with your family. Maybe you want to smash an athletic goal. Try writing down your “why” as a reminder on days when things don’t feel so hopeful.
Track Your Progress
This one’s easy because we already do it for you! However, you might want to keep track of your progress on your own to see how far you’ve come whenever you need an uplift.
Talk to Your Physical Therapist
At the end of the day, we want each and every one of our patients to succeed. If you’re really struggling, let us know. We can provide a long-term perspective, adjust your short-term goals, or just give you a much-needed pep talk. We can also perform a re-evaluation to make sure we aren’t missing anything.
Ready to write your own success story?
Call us to schedule an appointment today!
Patient Success
“I write to share my positive and successful experience at Peak Physical Therapy in Pembroke. I wish to acknowledge my PT team’s dedication that made such a difference for me both before and especially, obviously, after my knee replacement surgery. It’s clear the entire team played a crucial role in my long-term recovery: Jenn and Cassie at the front desk for their welcoming and helpful support, Dan, my primary therapist, for guiding my recovery and the entire support team: Alysha, Alex “oysters EVERYDAY” Perdikis, and Thomas. Knowing that the post-surgery physical therapy was crucial for me to make the progress I needed to achieve a full recovery, THANK YOU Dan; indeed, a great testament to entire team’s expertise.” – R.M.
4 Simple Strategies for Stress-Free Leaf Cleanup
For many of us, autumn is one of the most beautiful times of the year. There’s nothing like the cool refreshing air and breathtaking fall foliage. However, with the changing of the seasons comes a chore that we all dread– raking leaves.
Thankfully, there are a few easy ways to make raking the leaves more enjoyable. If you need help with your follow through on this chore, keep reading!
- If you can, rake downhill: Raking leaves is hard enough without having to go against gravity. Make this process a little easier on yourself by raking downhill.
- Pull the leaves towards you as you rake: This technique helps keep stress off your back and prevents injury. For extra preventative measures, tighten your abdominal muscles as you move.
- Divide your lawn into sections: If you’re dealing with a huge lawn, don’t overdo it by trying to tackle all the space in one day. Instead, divide your lawn into smaller, more manageable sections and spread the work out over a couple days.
- Wear the proper clothes: To prevent blisters or bug bites, it’s important to wear long sleeves and long pants while raking. It’s also a good idea to invest in a pair of strong gloves to protect your hands while you work.
Recipe of the Month: Homemade Hot Apple Cider
Ingredients
- 6 cups apple cider
- ¼ cup real maple syrup
- 2 cinnamon sticks
- 6 whole cloves
- 6 whole allspice berries
- 1 orange peel, cut into strips
- 1 lemon peel, cut into strips
Instructions
- Gather the ingredients. Pour apple cider and maple syrup into a large stainless steel saucepan.
- Place cinnamon sticks, cloves, allspice berries, orange peel, and lemon peel in the center of a square of washed cheesecloth; fold up the sides of the cheesecloth to enclose the bundle, then tie it up with a length of kitchen string. Drop the spice bundle into the cider mixture.
- Place the saucepan over moderate heat and cook until cider is very hot but not boiling, about 5 to 10 minutes. Remove cider from the heat. Discard the spice bundle.
- Ladle cider into big cups or mugs, adding a fresh cinnamon stick to each serving if desired.