Physiotherapy can help if you or a loved one has fallen or has a fear of falling.
Balance is a complicated thing, involving the cooperation and interaction of many different functions in your body (strength, vision, flexibility, feeling where your joints are in space).
Our physiotherapists can take you or your loved one through a comprehensive assessment to see what components of your balance need some tuning up! With our findings we can then tailor a program and provide you with the tools you need to keep yourself safe.
Research shows that when patients see a physiotherapist about falls and falls prevention, they experience fewer falls and fall-related injuries and enjoy a better quality of life. Tying in with this, research also shows an effective decrease in falls when adhering to a structured and individualized physiotherapy designed home-based exercise program containing some form of balance training and strength training.
Group exercise programs geared towards reducing falls as well as Tai Chi also showed benefits and even showed evidence of reducing fall-related fractures. We are fortunate to be able to offer both a Falls Prevention Class and Tai Chi classes in our Fitness club.
Here is a link to Emily's blog from last winter:
Also, OHIP offers free classes to seniors (aged 65 and older) to maintain balance and strength and help prevent falls (https://www.ontario.ca/page/exercise-and-falls-prevention-programs).
Gillespie LD, Robertson MC, Gillespie WJ, Sherrington C, Gates S, Clemson LM, Lamb SE. Interventions for preventing falls in older people living in the community. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews 2012; 9.
Canadian Physiotherapy Association. The Value of Physiotherapy: Falls. 2012. Available at: http://www.physiotherapy.ca/getmedia/616f3e65-f782-4f2c-aceb-2ddea969b2e3/CPA_TheValueOfPhysio2012_Falls-v1_1.pdf.aspx Accessed on: October 15, 2014