This April Falls Month, older people living in Western Sydney are being encouraged to look after themselves with regular exercise and activity to help maintain independence.
‘Falls Prevention is everyone’s business’ is the theme of this year’s April Falls Month, an annual event supported by the NSW Fall Prevention and Healthy Ageing Network to encourage older adults to become more active and reduce falls.
In Western Sydney Local Health District (WSLHD) information stalls and activities were held at Blacktown, Mount Druitt and Westmead hospitals to provide education to staff about falls prevention.
Chair of Westmead Hospital’s falls prevention committee and physiotherapist, Bronte Scott, helped to put on activities such as ‘walking the plank’ with a VR headset as well as trying on cataract glasses.
“Theses activities help to simulate how vision affects falls to help staff experience what it’s like for our vulnerable high falls risk patients,” Bronte said.
NSW Fall Prevention and Healthy Ageing Network Lead Advisor Professor Cathie Sherrington said staying physically active is the single most important thing we can do to stay independent as we age.
“During ageing, our bodies change, losing muscle strength and coordination so the more active we remain, the better chance we have of maintaining our physical function,” Prof Sherrington said.
Improving balance and strength in our legs allows us to complete regular daily activities more easily, including getting up and down stairs, in and out of cars, negotiating uneven surfaces and reducing the risk of falling.
If older people are feeling unsteady on their feet or are having eyesight changes or pain in their feet seeing specialists such as a physiotherapist for balance and strength testing, an optometrist for vision changes and a podiatrist to reduce foot pain can help to maintain independence. See your GP for issues that worry you and for referrals to other health practitioners.
“Falls prevention is everyone’s business and research has shown that regular exercise can reduce falls in older people by 23 per cent. Importantly, slowly building up high-challenge balance exercises can increase the effects of exercise by up to 40 per cent,” Prof Sherrington said.
The Clinical Excellence Commission (CEC) has collaborated with the NSW Fall Prevention and Healthy Ageing Network to produce a range of April Falls resources for patients, families, carers and health staff. https://fallsnetwork.neura.edu.au/aprilfalls/
Fall Prevention information is also available on the CEC website. To find a local exercise group that includes balance and strength exercises, visit the NSW Active and Healthy website: https://www.activeandhealthy.nsw.gov.au/