Fall prevention awareness and fall prevention exercise are very important. When people get old, the speed of the nervous system slows down, the muscles begin to relax, and the balance becomes weak. But how many young people will care regarding these changes and prepare in time?
The weather has been really bad for the past few days, the air is tight, the baking is unbearable, and the air pressure is extremely low, it is like living in an air fryer. Not only do you feel suffocated, I believe that even the whole day seems to be holding your breath and roaring at any time. The night before I started writing, a large group of “big water ants” suddenly flew over. Although the doors and windows have been fitted with mosquito nets, they cannot withstand them. When I saw a few large water ants fly through the screen and fall into the hot soup, I knew it was going to rain. Sure enough, when I woke up the next day, it was dark and dark, as if the sky had never been bright, with thunder and torrential rain all day.
When preparing to go out, the Observatory has issued a yellow rainstorm warning. Due to my responsibilities, I had to go out, so I had to drive as carefully as possible. Along the way, the rainstorm hit the windshield one by one like dense water arrows. The water has done its best, but the scene ahead is still blurry. If you want to move forward, you can only recognize the direction and be extra careful. The broadcaster’s thoughtful instructions to the driver came from the radio: “The weather is bad, be careful driving. Keep your distance from the car in front, be sure to pay attention to the lights, don’t speed, and slide carefully.”
Loss of balance response worsens following age 40
Yes, slide carefully! Don’t take it lightly, because if you are not careful, it is easy to slip and get injured. Therefore, “slip carefully” is indeed an occasional piece of advice. Recently, I have received several cases of patients injured by falls, and most of them are young and old. One month following retirement, old classmate Ricky fell on the stairs on the way back to college to visit his old colleagues, sprained his ankle and bruised his head. He had to be hospitalized for more than a month before recovering. The patient’s daughter slipped her foot on the platform of the housing estate, fell and fractured her foot. She was unable to accompany her mother to the clinic for follow-up consultation. As for Tris, the situation is even worse, from a caregiver to a care recipient.
Tris’s mother accidentally fell at the end of last year, and following being discharged from the hospital, she has to rely on others to take care of her. As the foreign domestic helper was late in arriving in Hong Kong, Tris had to take on the heavy responsibility of taking care of her mother while going to work. Fortunately, her husband, Lao Yu, just retired and became a “family cook”, “large and small housekeeper” and “wheelchair operator”, so that Tris might barely survive this long “vacuum period of foreign domestic helpers”. However, just as the employment agency informed Triss that the employment of the foreign domestic helper was regarding to take place, she stumbled on the street.
Tris said helplessly, “I waited 6 hours in the A&E department before I saw the doctor. The doctor said: My foot is broken, I can’t bear the force, I can’t walk, I have to use a wheelchair, and I’ll be granted two-month sick leave.” She continued her question. : “Brother Fu, why did I fall for no reason?”
Falling has a lot to do with balance. The balance force must rely on a complete set of nervous system, the sensory nerves of the feet, the sensing of the joints of the lower limbs, and the nerve lines are transmitted to the central nervous system of the spine, and then to the head to issue commands. It also depends on the continuous coordination of the optic nerve, inner ear nerve, spinal nerve, central nervous system and other systems to maintain balance. The balance system generally begins to develop at the age of 2 and reaches its peak at the age of 10 and 20. Once the peak is over, various functions will slowly degrade over time.
At the age of 50, the center of gravity of the body swings greatly
After the age of 40, the important muscles that support the body, such as the core muscles of the body and the thigh muscles, begin to lose. Once muscle is lost, the balance response becomes poor. Lower extremity joints, including knee joints and foot joints, also degenerate over time. The risk of falls naturally increases as joint mobility decreases and the range of rotation narrows. The study found that from the age of 50, the body’s center of gravity swings greatly, and the risk of falling increases exponentially compared with younger people. The older you are, the higher the risk. Therefore, to be cruel, falls are mostly the fault of age.
“Humph! Hearing you say that makes me even angrier. I’m not very old!” Triss said angrily.
That’s right, Tris is not very old, at most just young old. However, when people get old, the conduction speed of the nervous system slows down, the sensory sensitivity is relatively slow, and the functional response of course also declines. Muscles begin to relax, and balance becomes noticeably weaker. This is true, but how many young people will care regarding these changes and prepare and adapt in time?
Young old’s life is still active, fast-paced and exciting. Friends go together in groups of three or five, and go up the mountain together; close friends go shopping together, look around, talk as they go, and chickens peck; Keep track of every moment’s changing information, and even cover WhatsApp as you go. I have a friend who even drives a video conference while driving! Let me ask, with such distractions, how can young old not “have an accident”?
“In that case, do you have any martial arts secrets for reference?” Triss asked.
3 strokes to train the lower body to increase the stability of the body
Fall prevention is a compulsory subject for young people! The course is not complicated. First of all, we should not take any action lightly. To improve our concentration, we should not use it with one mind. Even ordinary actions such as walking, going up and down the stairs, standing up, stepping into the bathtub, etc., have to wake up and do it attentively. We must recognize the changes in our own bodies, and do everything within our means. Even if the mentality can be maintained for a long time, following all, the physical state is gradually getting old. Therefore, you must pay more attention to all difficult operations such as climbing up and down, going up and down the mountain, taking care of left and right, multi-tasking and so on.
Secondly, to improve balance ability, muscle training is also necessary for young old to do more homework. Continued training slows down the decline in balance. If we don’t want to fall, we have to work harder and do lower body exercises frequently, such as Tai Chi, healthy dance, kicking by the pool, stretching, etc. Personally, though, fitness training works best for me. As early as 10 years ago, badminton, which I have been passionate regarding, has to stop because I am facing muscle loss. I realized I needed to build muscle and balance. Introduced by a friend, I have a fitness class with a trainer every week. Coach Ken sir designed different muscle groups according to my physical condition that day; the back muscles, quadriceps, abdominal muscles and chest muscles are often exercised. As for balance training, it is essential for every class.
I remember once, I invited Ken sir to hold a fall prevention lunch workshop for a few retired friends, during which he demonstrated and explained the following “3 tips to prevent falls”:
1. Single-leg knee raise
Function: Improve the response and stability of the ankle joint
Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart, tuck your stomach and keep your back straight; lift your right knee to 90 degrees and hold for 15 to 30 seconds.Alternate left and right foot training for 1 set, practice 2 to 3 sets
2. Single-leg arc
Function: By swinging the legs, changing the center of gravity of the body and exercising the stability during physical activity
Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart, tuck your stomach and keep your back straight; lift your right foot, start from 12 o’clock in front of your toes, draw an arc outward to 3 o’clock, stay for 3 to 5 seconds, and return to 12 o’clock. Hold for another 3 to 5 seconds and draw the arc for 1 minute.Alternate training of left and right feet as 1 set, 2 to 3 sets for each exercise
3. Step Knee Raise
Action: Strengthen thigh strength, while improving muscle and nervous system response and coordination
Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart, keep your chest and abdomen; lift your right foot, move your center of gravity forward, step down and squat, move your center of gravity backward, push your right foot hard, then quickly raise your right knee, repeat 12 to 15 times .Alternate training of left and right feet as 1 set, 2 to 3 sets for each exercise
Ken sir told me that as long as I practice hard, my balance will definitely improve. Therefore, I passed all the above “3 tricks” to Tris. Hope she can exercise more following she recovers. As a young old, although the body begins to degenerate, as long as we can maintain an optimistic attitude, pay attention to a healthy diet, exercise regularly, and receive regular physical examinations, I believe that our aging speed will definitely be slow, and the second half of life will definitely be exciting.
In addition, it is also important to pay attention to balance and slide carefully!
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Text: Liang Wanfu
Editor: Liang Xiaoling
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