Improving Your Balance at The Gift of Movement
One of the biggest concerns as we age becomes how well we balance and our risks for falls. With good reason:
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Risk of Falling as You Age: All statistics are from the Centers for Disease Control. (CDC)
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Falls are the leading cause of injury-related death among adults ages 65 and older.
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In 2021, 38,742 older adults aged 65 and older died from preventable falls.
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Over the past 10 years, older adult fall deaths have increased by 60%.
And unfortunately, those statistics are only getting worse. That’s why at The Gift of Movement we focus on this issue as a regular part of our programming.
Specifically, we focus on an often-overlooked aspect of our ability to balance; our feet and how well they are functioning. Foot Health Problems Increase the Risks for Falls in older adults: 1/3 of older adults have foot pain, stiffness or aching feet.
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Arthritis
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Plantar Fasciitis
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Weak Muscles form previous injuries or disuse.
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The arch muscles are 40% weaker in older adults vs younger adults​
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Muscles are 19 to 45% smaller in older vs younger adults. (Journal of Orthopedic Physical Therapy, Nov. 30, 2016, Issue 12, pgs. 1065-1070.)
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Our program for restoring foot function, improving balance and reducing the risk of falls is called Happy Feet. How does Happy Feet help?
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Restores movement and strength in the joints of the foot and ankle.
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Increases your ability to respond to sudden changes in the environment/surface you are moving over.
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Decreases foot pain that distorts the information coming in from the foot and ankle decreasing response time and available strength, increasing the risk of losing balance and falling. ​
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With this simple program you get easy to use daily exercise routine that improves your foot function in 10 minutes a day. It’s an easy way to improve your balance and decrease your risk for falls. For more information use our contact page or message me at gift_of_movement@msn.com.
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