Скачать или смотреть Health Check: Older adults can prevent falls with exercise

The benefits of exercise far outweigh the risks of inactivity, just ask Marjorie Quinn.

"Even sometimes if I was away a week from [exercise], I could notice the difference," Quinn said. "I mean you lose your muscles."

That's where physical therapist Sarah Rathert comes into play.

"Marjorie had come to me because she had a fall and was having a lot of trouble staying on her feet," Rathert admits.

Marjorie is a resident of Saint Therese at Oxbow Lake in Brooklyn Park. The senior living community has a new wellness center with a balance clinic aimed at helping seniors prevent falls.

On Tuesday morning, Sarah put Marjorie through a series of balance--related tests.

Those tests helped determine how to train her to have better posture, better vision and ultimately, better balance.

"That's really critical to keep from having those recurring issues, maintaining the strength that you build up in therapy," Rathert said.

Sarah demonstrated several different exercises with Marjorie that helps build her core strength.

"A great exercise to work on core strength and hip extensor would be to lie down on the bed or on the floor and raise your rear end, which strengthens those muscles," Rathert said.

Another exercise she recommends is standing up against a wall (with your feet about 3-4 inches away from the wall), then falling back, and coming forward.

Rathert says that particular exercise strengthens the ankle muscles and the core muscles (stomach and back), to help with fall prevention.

Meantime, she says the surgeon general recommends people get about 150 minutes of exercise a week.

It's inactivity that causes falls to happen, and Marjorie Quinn is doing what she can do to stay on her feet.

"Once you've fallen, it kind of really wakes you up," Quinn said.

Delane Cleveland

http://www.ccxmedia.org/
  / ccxmedia.org  
  / ccxnews  

12 News is on Comcast cable channel 12 in the northwest suburbs of Minneapolis and includes the cities Brooklyn Center, Brooklyn Park, Crystal, Golden Valley, Maple Grove, New Hope, Osseo, Plymouth and Robbinsdale.