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There’s little doubt that exercise is good for your overall health. Every little bit counts – even walking to the mailbox or putting away laundry are small amounts of physical activity that add up over time. Since being sedentary is one of the driving factors in serious health problems and premature death, seniors should plan out to be on their feet more often and make exercise a part of their daily routine.
The World Health Organization recommends that seniors exercise for at least 150 minutes each week. The best is moderate exercise. This can be defined in a wide variety of ways but for most people, this means you can still talk to someone you are working out with, but you are too winded to sing a verse of your favorite song. Once you hit that point, your body is working at its optimum level for your best physical fitness.1
Most people choose to separate their exercise into 30-minute blocks, five times per week. It turns out that this schedule is quite advantageous for everyone but perhaps especially for older women. A study published in JAMA Network Open found that senior women who exercised on this schedule were one-third less likely to suffer injuries as a result of a fall.2
The Study on Older Women and Falls
The study conducted in Australia recruited over 10,000 participants, all women between the ages of 45 and 50. The study began in 1996 with a self-reporting of the weekly amount of physical activity each woman engaged in. Many years later, between 2016 and 2019, over 7,000 participants with an average age of 67 completed follow-up questionnaires.
The study examined three specific types of physical activity:
· Brisk walking, either for exercise or out of necessity to get from one place to another
· Moderate exercise, such as tennis, swimming, or an intense exercise class
· Vigorous exercise that included aerobics, running, strong swimming, or cycling
The study participants were also divided into groups based on the number of minutes they usually exercised: Less than 150 minutes, between 150 and 299 minutes, and 300 minutes or more.
Then, the researchers asked about falls. Did the study participants fall at any point during those years? Did they get injured when they fell? And if they did get injured, did they seek medical attention in the aftermath of the fall?
Researchers analyzed that information and here’s what they found:
· About 2,000 of the 7,000 women in the 2019 survey reported a fall in the last 12 months. About half of those falls led to injury and the other half led to simple bumps, bruises, and some wounded pride. That’s in line with the statistics reported by the CDC, where more than one in four seniors experiences a fall each year.
· The lowest risk of falling was associated with moderate to vigorous activity, as well as those who went on brisk walks. This suggests that for the purposes of maintaining good balance on your feet, working out hard has about the same benefit as quick walking does.
· Those who exercised between 150 and 300 minutes each week reduced their risk of non-injury falls by 26% and their risk of injuries from falls by 30%.
· Interestingly, those who exercised for more than 300 minutes a week cut their risk of falls that led to injury by only 23%. But the risk of non-injury falls dropped by 34%.
· Brisk walking reduced the overall risk of falls by 17% without any other exercise included in the weekly tally.
This echoes previous research that found that seniors who chose to walk on a regular basis saw more benefit and a reduced risk of falls over those who tried balance training instead.
In other words, the more you are on your feet, the better your balance will be, and the lower your odds of suffering a fall. It’s also possible that as the exercise strengthens muscle and bone, women could be much less likely to suffer injuries from falls.
No matter the exercise you choose, a button alert is a very good idea. And if you choose an on-the-go model with location tracking, you have even more protection.
The Best Exercises for Seniors
It’s important to remember that while the World Health Organization recommends at least 150 minutes each week of moderate activity, most Americans don’t get nearly that much. That’s in line with the rest of the world; the WHO says that 80% of those around the globe don’t get adequate exercise.
And for most of us, planning out 150 minutes of exercise makes it seem like more of a chore. That can be a daunting number.
The good news is that while you should aim to meet the WHO guidelines, even small chunks of exercise throughout your week are much better than nothing. Try taking the stairs instead of the elevator, park your vehicle a good distance away from the shopping center so you can get in more steps, and make a point of walking around your house every 15 to 30 minutes.
Obviously walking is a very clear winner when it comes to the best possible exercise to avoid falls. The more you walk, the easier it is to balance your body throughout the day. It even makes it easier to “catch yourself” as you begin to fall and hopefully avoid hitting the floor.
But other exercises have wowed researchers in clinical studies. A good example of this is tai chi.
Tai chi is an ancient form of martial arts practice that was first popular in China but has now spread all over the world. The modern version of this practice involves slow movements, physical poses that stretch your body, and deep breathing for both focus and relaxation.
A study in Frontiers in Public Health found that tai chi effectively reduces the risk of falls in older adults. It also improves walking speed and balance.3 The more you exercise with tai chi, the greater the benefits. And it works very well not only for those who are healthy and want to stay that way, but for those who have balance issues and want to improve their overall physical health.
Tai chi has the added bonus of being gentle on the joints. As we get older, low-impact exercises tend to be the better option to protect your joints and keep you mobile for as long as possible. These can include walking, gentle cycling, and water aerobics – the buoyancy takes pressure off your joints but you still get a good workout using the resistance of the water.
The Deeper Dangers of Falls
Though this study focused on women, obviously falls are a serious problem for men, too. Though most falls end with bumps and bruises, it just takes one bad fall to change your life in an instant. The consequences of a serious fall cannot be overstated.
The more often you fall, the more likely you are to become injured, which can lead to a lengthy hospital stay. You might lose your ability to stay mobile and independent, which can then affect your overall health and well-being.
About three million seniors each year wind up in the emergency department after a fall. Falling down and hitting your head could easily result in a traumatic brain injury, which requires immediate and intense treatment. Hip fractures are also a common result of serious falls. These fractures can require surgery and other medical interventions, including physical therapy during recovery.
If you suffer “the long lie” – a period of at least an hour where a person lies on the floor after a fall and help doesn’t arrive – you could face other issues that are tough to overcome, such as pressure sores, hypothermia, dehydration, muscle breakdown, and much more. A medical alarm right at your fingertips can ensure that the damage of a long lie doesn’t happen to you.
Other Tips to Avoid Falls
There are some other things seniors can try at home to stay as safe as possible:
· Clear the house of clutter. Even if you know where everything is, it takes just one thing out of place and a little distraction to cause a fall.
· Avoid using throw rugs, as these can easily slip under your feet. If you use area rugs, make sure the edges are taped down tightly to avoid them curling up and tripping you.
· Keep the things you need most often within easy reach. You don’t want to climb onto a stepstool or strain to reach something on the top shelves.
· Improve the lighting in the house. Go with brighter bulbs in all the fixtures, and install nightlights and motion-sensing lights to ensure you can see your way through the home even in the dead of night.
· Keep all exterior walkways clear, just as you would with the walkways inside your home.
Getting help right away if you fall can be key to a good medical outcome. Rather than lie on the floor in pain waiting for help to arrive, you can press the button on an alert for seniors or elderly adults to get help right away.
If you have chosen a model with fall detection, the tiny sensors in the device can detect when a fall has occurred. When that happens, the device will automatically alert the 24/7 live monitoring center on your behalf to ensure you get the help you need, even if you cannot press the button yourself. You can be rest assured that whether you can speak or not, help will be on the way in moments.
