Wednesday, September 08, 1999
Exercise can help prevent hip fractures
BY SUE MacDONALD
The Cincinnati Enquirer
Ask a group of health experts about hip fractures among older people, and each one is likely to identify a factor — none the same — that's most important in preventing falls.
Install safety bars and no-slip floors in bathrooms, some say. Look for underlying health problems, others say. Consider side effects from drugs, still others say.
But they all agree on one topic: Exercise is a key for staying healthy and alert, enhancing balance, building muscle mass, increasing muscle strength and reducing the likelihood of falling.
“You can't beat exercise, because people have to build up some confidence in their abilities,” says Dr. Eugenia Mills, chair of nursing at Miami University. Among the exercise tips recommended by geriatric, orthopaedic and nursing specialists:
• Pursue exercises that increase muscle mass, which declines with age as muscle is replaced by fat. Try lifting light weights.
• Increase strength and balance through walking, swimming, biking — any activity that strengthens the knees, ankles, feet.
• Make balance a part of your exercise routine. Try standing on one leg for 10-15 seconds (with someone else nearby, or next to a chair or grab bar in case you begin to falter). Then switch legs and repeat.
“When you stand on one leg, different muscles have to pull into place to maintain that balance, and your nervous system has to notify your brain exactly what muscles to move to maintain that balance,” Dr. Mills says. “It's good practice for both muscle and nervous systems, which help in balance.”
• Practice falling onto a soft couch or mattress by slumping and rolling with the fall. Go limp and loose as you practice. The natural instinct to brace one's self can actually increase the risk of wrist or arm fractures.
• Schedule a consultation with a physical therapist or exercise specialist. Look for exercise programs that enhance balance, perception and muscle skills needed to stay healthy, strong and stable on one's feet. If you're afraid to begin moving or exercise, work out with a specialist, spouse, neighbor or friend until your confidence level returns.
After a fall, doctors work on getting elderly patients back on their feet
How to reduce risk
Exercise can help prevent hip fractures
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