On Wednesday, September 18th, 2024, Dr. Nate Skare gave a presentation at 125 about fall prevention awareness.
The class description was “Live September is Fall Prevention Awareness Month. Join Dr. Nate Skare of Skare Spine and Performance for a presentation on falling and fall prevention. Falls become increasingly common as we age, with 40% of those over 70 and 60-70% of those over 85 falling annually. Prevention becomes crucial since a significant portion of hip fractures result from falls. Join us to explore predictors of falls and effective solutions to mitigate your fall risk.”
Falling has become increasingly common in the United States.
Forty percent of people over 70 fall at least once per year, resulting in 8 million injuries, 3 million visits to the emergency room, and 900,000 hospitalizations.
One in five falls results in serious injury, and 300,000 of those severe injuries are fractured hips. Medical costs from falling exceed $50 billion per year.
Three key components to preventing falls are balance, strength, and flexibility.
Among all the factors, did you know toe strength is the #1 predictor of falling?
Here’s what the research showed:
- Non-falling seniors had 20% more toe strength than those who fell.
- Toe strength diminishes by 35% as we age.
- For every 1% increase in toe strength, there is a 7% decrease in chance of falling. The good news is that toe strength is relatively easy to improve.
Many other factors can contribute to falls, and it's essential to start working on strength, balance, and flexibility early in life to decrease your chance of falling and getting injured.
Dr. Tom Michaud developed a program of tests and exercises you can do at home or in our office to help decrease your chance of falling.
In our office, we use the ToePro to help strengthen the foot and calf muscles.
In addition to preventing falls and athletic performance, it is excellent for conditions like plantar fasciitis, Achilles tendinitis, and shin splints, and it can even help prevent ACL tears.
If you need help knowing what exercises to do for fall prevention, plantar fasciitis, Achilles pain, shin splints, or any lower body pain, please reach out or schedule an appointment with us!
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