My World is Shrinking

[Amethyst]

Terry, I have found some good in balance exercises. Where before, I seemed to go straight down every time I tripped on anything, I now have a better sense of "proprioception" (knowing where one's body is in space). Several times, I've caught myself mid-trip and kept myself from going down. Not a panacea of course, but perhaps it could help you a bit.

My daily exercises include standing on one foot, then the other, with eyes closed. I have worked up to 12-15 seconds on each foot. At the start, this took quite a lot of practice and persistence...I couldn't even do it for 1 second.

 

[Amethyst]

OMG those are terrible. I don't blame you for using trekking poles. Be careful!!

Our sidewalks in New Orleans are very uneven and rugged, and it is easy to trip and fall on them. I attached a couple of photos of them from the internet, which I think represent the average sidewalk around here.

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[Teacher Terry]

A, thanks for the tip. Someone else suggested it a few weeks ago and I have been doing it. Surprising how hard it can be. Right after I broke my wrist and had the hard cast put on we went on a cruise. When we went through the threshold of a door to enter the terminal the rug was folded up and I didn’t see it. Despite going flying I managed to regain my balance about a foot from the floor despite carrying a purse and a rolling bag. The worker comes running to see if I am okay and blurts out that people trip on that all the time.

 

[W2R]

We were in New Orleans in February and I walked looking down all the time. I can’t use poles because of the dogs. I only have Maltese now. I got the concussion because I was power walking the big old guy that is now dead. That’s the last really fast walk that I took. I gave up hiking in the mountains 10 years ago.

Glad you were looking down while walking here. That's what I have been doing, but the more I age, the more insecure I feel about walking on uneven ground. The trekking poles just might do the trick; in my case I have no dogs so that will not be a problem for me. I am so sorry to read that your big old doggie died.

At the moment, I am recovering from what I think is probably a badly sprained knee. So, I am sitting with my feet up for a while and will have some time to decide on, and possibly order my own trekking poles.

 

[Teacher Terry]

WR2 I was shocked how bad the sidewalks are. I also held onto my husband’s arm. I had recently broken my wrist and didn’t want to do it again. We really miss the big old guy. He was 13 and a husky/shepherd mix. 5 years ago my son couldn’t keep him anymore so we drove halfway across the country to get him. He was the best dog I have ever had. However, he was horrible for my allergies/asthma. Sorry to hear about your knee.

 

[haha]

Our sidewalks in New Orleans are very uneven and rugged, and it is easy to trip and fall on them. I attached a couple of photos of them from the internet, which I think represent the average sidewalk around here.

We are getting older and feel it's time to address this problem if we are to continue walking on the sidewalks around here.

So last week Frank, who normally uses a cane, bought these trekking poles. He loves them and let me try them out. Very cool, and I am thinking of buying some, too. We have not hiked or climbed mountains for many years, but would use them purely for added stability and fall prevention in urban environments.

These look like Seattle sidewalks. I was walking fast one dark night and my foot was caught by a 3" lip like the one in your picture. Made a mess of my face, and made me very sore but I am glad to say I broke nothing. And we have a new hazard-electric scooters. I just hope the idiots who fly around on these kill some of themselves in addition to the toll on us old folks.

I don't think trekking poles would help me, as our sidewalks are very crowded and I would often be getting on someone's way. Hard enough to keep high school students from knocking us down as it is.

Hope your knee recovers quickly

Ha

 

[Moemg]

Those sidewalks look like the ones in Havana . We had to be so careful walking . The one thing you want to avoid when you are older is falling . W2R sorry about your knee . Hope it heals quickly.

 

[W2R]

Thanks, Teacher Terry. Even though I know you miss your dog, I am sure an improvement in your allergies is helpful.

Thanks, Haha. The sidewalks here aren't too crowded, especially in our residential neighborhood, so I am hoping the trekking poles turn out to be helpful for us.

Thanks, Moemg. I hate having a "bum knee" and think that with any luck it will heal and feel better eventually. You are so right about falling and I need to avoid tripping or falling as much as possible. I am not getting any younger, and could really get hurt by a bad fall.

Amethyst, thanks for the balance exercises. Those sound very helpful too.

 

[Teacher Terry]

We had a great time in New Orleans. It was my second visit in 20 years.

 

[Helen]

I'm currently on a 3 month trip with two months in Europe. We took a 13 day cruise from Florida. Our first stop was in Portugal where I promptly caught my foot on the lip of a cobblestone and landed hard on my side. I think I pulled a muscle from my rib cage. The problem is I'm carrying a backpack so the injury hasn't had a chance to heal.

Other than that this trip (no pun intended) is amazing.

 

[nativenewenglander]

My wife works in physical therapy and suggested to a neighbor who has falling issues to use trekking poles on her walks. Most of the time she does, but this was only after a broken wrist on one fall and a cracked vertebrae in another.

 

[I was misinformed]

Terry, I have found some good in balance exercises. ........

My daily exercises include standing on one foot, then the other, with eyes closed. I have worked up to 12-15 seconds on each foot. At the start, this took quite a lot of practice and persistence...I couldn't even do it for 1 second.

When I was being treated for a sore knee, my PT recommended this to strengthen muscles around the knee. Actually he had me doing this while standing on a slightly jiggly cushion (but lightly touching a wall to extend the time I could continue on one foot). I found at home that a doubled-over exercise mat provides a slightly jiggly surface to stand on to add to the challenge.

 

[Teacher Terry]

Do you put your arms out when doing this?

 

[Amethyst]

I do different things to vary the challenge, all while keeping eyes closed: Stand on one leg, extend the other leg out to the side as straight as I can, or extend the other leg out in front while keeping hands together in "prayer" (Please, Lord, don't let me fall over!). Lean over and extend one leg out in back of me, like a figure skater. The variety makes it much harder and requires much more focus, and focus is really the thing I am practicing, although the hamstrings get a workout too.

When I was being treated for a sore knee, my PT recommended this to strengthen muscles around the knee. Actually he had me doing this while standing on a slightly jiggly cushion (but lightly touching a wall to extend the time I could continue on one foot). I found at home that a doubled-over exercise mat provides a slightly jiggly surface to stand on to add to the challenge.