Movement Matters. Have Fun, Stay Strong…and Safe

Learn how to maximize your health with physical activity.

Unintentional poisoning is the leading injury-caused death for people of all ages in the United States? And accidental falls kill 32,000 people a year?

This statistic startled me and turned my thoughts to the way too many murder mysteries I’ve read. What nefarious villain is poisoning Americans and pushing them off ladders?

It turns out that most of these poisoning deaths are medication mistakes or accidental drug overdoses. And the falling is mostly older folks.

Why my morbid interest in death?

It started with what Texans are now calling Snowpocalypse, the unexpected week of sub-freezing weather in February this year.

Meeting one of my neighbors in my apartment hallway, she told me she fell on the sidewalk in front of her office and cracked three ribs. She also said that four people from our complex fell on the icy sidewalks that week. Luckily, none had to be hospitalized.

My grandmother died from a fall or its effects, I should say. One morning, she tripped on a throw rug in her overcrowded living room. EMS took her to the hospital, she had surgery and contracted pneumonia which eventually killed her. However you look at it, it started with that fall.

At age sixty-five, death from falls moves to # 1.

As a cause of death, falls pass poisoning, motor vehicle accidents, and suicides, becoming the leading cause of death for older adults.

• About 36 million older adults fall each year and 32,000 people die.
• One out of every five falls results in injuries, particularly broken bones.
• At least 300,000 older people are hospitalized for hip fractures each year.
• More women fall, accounting for three-quarters of all hip fractures.

Why do so many older people fall?

As with most things related to health, prevention is so much easier than cure.

If we know the causes, perhaps we can help our older friends and relatives avoid falls — and eventually ourselves.

Numerous factors contribute to people falling, and the good news is they are largely preventable. Just because a person is older, they don’t have to be weak.

Here are the four main causes people fall:

• A person with poor strength and balance simply loses their footing.
• Poor eyesight makes them miss hazards.
• Side effects of medications may cause low blood pressure and dizziness.
• Clutter and tripping hazards at home.

There are eight factors that may contribute to falls. Specialists use the word frail, to describe people with these problems.

Weakness can be measured by your grip strength. To check yours, get an inexpensive grip strength meter that can also serve as a trainer. Compare your reading to age range charts. Grip strength of less than 28.6 for women or 46.3 for men is frail.

Low physical activity. Are you moving less than 150 minutes per week? Having a dog to walk is a good way to encourage people to get out and move.

Poor balance can be measured with the Berg Balance Scale. This includes standing on one leg, standing with one foot lined up directly in front of the other, and easily looking behind/over your right and left shoulders.

Low gait speed is walking slower than 13 feet in 6.7 seconds.

Fatigue is a self-reported state. How often feel exhausted or tired?

Weight loss. Are you losing weight unintentionally? Being too thin is not beneficial as a person ages.

Poor vision can cause falls. As you get older, have your eyes checked annually.

Cognitive problems can be measured with the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE). Foggy thinking makes it hard to properly take medications, maintain a safe home, and a healthy diet.

A person is considered pre-frail if they have two or more of the above indicators or frail if more than two, and good to go with none.

We all know we can’t get out of this world alive.

I agree with Daniel J. Levitin, author of Successful Aging; A Neuroscientist Explores the Power and Potential of Our Lives.

He describes a reasonable goal as having the longest health span possible and the fewest years spent in a disease span.

It is true death is inevitable but accidental causes are mostly avoidable. We can sure cut down on the top two causes of death by injury, poisoning, and falls.

People can avoid most of those eight contributing causes. Aging is an inescapable process, but let’s reduce or delay its effects.

Regular checkups, a healthy diet, gut microbiome, sleep, and a robust social network are important.

But the single most valuable thing you can do is move!

Physical activity oxygenates the blood, strengthens muscles and bones, and boosts feel-good hormones.

You don’t have to aspire to run a marathon but you do need to get moving.

If you are currently inactive, start with small goals of ten minutes a day. Walk, lift light weights at home, start Tai Chi—go to YouTube and find some videos to stretch along with. Nobody says that change is easy, but it’s sure possible.

Making an investment in exercise and health now will continue to pay you back for the rest of your life.

Keep moving if you want strength and balance as you age.

You want to be ready; a new study from the U.K. reveals that people have the greatest level of happiness at age 82!

Cindy grew up on a homestead in Alaska, where she developed a profound appreciation for nature and a passion for life. She loves to write about food and fitness. Join the conversation.