[/caption]GHN Editor - Exercise therapist, Jaime, at the Sunset Athletic Club in Portland includes exercises in balance as routine in his therapeutic plan, especially for seniors, recognizing that problems of balance need attention, even as medical researchers have recently found those same problems indicators of Alzheimer’s disease.
Researchers at the Washington University School of Medicine reported this week at the Alzheimer’s Association Intenational Conference that scientists have found those with brain changes indicative of early Alzheimer’s disease also have problems with balance and are more likely to fall than those people without those changes.
Until recently scientists believed that falls were associated more with latter stages of dementia as opposed to early indicators of the disease. But after studying a number of people with changes in the brain that look similar to Alzheimer’s disease, researchers found these people fell more often during these early stages.
Balance is an issue of older adults, with statistically one in three adults who fall each year. But those with high levels of amyloid have an increased risk for falls.
Jaime teaches his students first how to manage what is referred to as core muscle groups. Strengthening and stretching these muscles allow the individual to develop an enhanced range of motion and increased security of movement. “Balance is part of that program,” Jaime tells us. “It is important that an individual be secure in movement, taking stairs for example, walking across a room, and doing activities of daily living. The core muscle groups are trained to aid the individual in developing security of movement and specific balance exercises enhance this.”
The Centers for Disease Control, in addition to reporting that one in three seniors fall each year, gives the following specific statistics on the problem:
• Of those who fall, 20% to 30% suffer moderate to severe injuries that make it hard for them to get around or live independently, and increase their risk of early death.3
• Older adults are hospitalized for fall-related injuries five times more often than they are for injuries from other causes.3
• In 2009, emergency departments treated 2.2 million nonfatal fall injuries among older adults; more than 582,000 of these patients had to be hospitalized.4
As Congress debates the high costs of medical care and looks to trimming the budget, prevention programs are often those cited as ways of saving money. Perhaps that saving can come from programs designed by people like Jaime who know how important balance is to overall health and prepare people for those changes as they age.