Did you know that when you reach your 60’s, you naturally lose strength in your muscles, flexibility in your joints and balance in your whole body! It’s very important to stay strong, flexible and balanced as you get older- it keeps you moving and doing what you love!
What’s the risk of not having these qualities? You might feel stiff, have slow reaction times, and have falls when you’re not concentrating or if you are taking risks- which is something you used to be fine with when you were younger! (Seems like yesterday!)
Luckily for you, there is lots you can do to maintain all these qualities in your body and even improve them!
You might be wondering why preventing falls as you get older is so important……….
Falls are the number 1 cause of hospital admissions and can cause serious morbidity and even mortality in the ageing population.
The good news is……… falls are preventable!
There is a large amount of research to support the benefits of training strength and balance in rehabilitating injuries, preventing future injuries, and avoiding falls.
What types of training activities does the research support?
Current evidence suggests that practising balance on stable and unstable surfaces, stepping around obstacles, reaching out of your base of support and global strengthening home exercise programs have great effects for falls prevention.
Our experienced Physiotherapists are here to create the perfect individualised program for you to help you get started on your journey to better health!
To improve your balance, you need to challenge it with various exercises. If it’s too easy- it won’t help you! That’s why you need a well- prescribed exercise program created by a Physiotherapist to help you achieve your specific goals.
If this blog has got you interested and you want to know more, have a look at our ‘Strength and Balance class’ page or download our free Strength & Balance checklist.
