Another friend falling incident......not good recovery so far.

[Koolau]

I had ACL and meniscus repair in 2012, and was on crutches for a few weeks. I had to be especially careful on stairs. The two cats I had used to race by me like that, so I trained them by whacking them with my crutches, not too hard, but not a tap either. They learned! They wouldn't pass unless I looked back and stopped and told them it was ok to go. And for the rest of their lives, even when I didn't have crutches, they would pause behind me, and make a noise that they were coming by. Every time. Those two were great cats.

That's amazing. You hate to do it, but cats understand food and whacking. Otherwise, they ignore their "staff."

 

[Teacher Terry]

That's amazing. You hate to do it, but cats understand food and whacking. Otherwise, they ignore their "staff."

A spray bottle will accomplish the same
thing and is kinder than hitting.

 

[Koolau]

A spray bottle will accomplish the same
thing and is kinder than hitting.

Never a spray bottle when you need one.

 

[badatmath]

Cats can only be taken for a drag on a leash. Don't ask me how I know.

Ha. I tried to train my last cat to do that and he always acted like his legs were broken. . . I'm sure if we'd started when he was a kitten he'd have done better but I rescued him as an adult. He was really food motivated so easy to train in some ways.

 

[Joseph]

Only 61, some of my friends starting to have some stuff happen to them already
My Dad had dementia turn into Alzheimer’s ( 4 yrs in nursing home). He always had some cognition when I was around. Made it it a bit easy when I saw him. On a lighter note , I would mess around with him. Was motivating him to try to do some rehab. Pulled the belushi from animal house bit re: it ain’t over till I say it’s over. Alluded to the line” was it over when the Germans bombed Pearl Harbor”. He just laughed at me, called a nice expletive while saying the Japanese bombed pear harbor. Had a good laugh at that

 

[RunningBum]

A spray bottle will accomplish the same
thing and is kinder than hitting.

In my case, being on crutches and going up or down stairs, there's no way I was also carrying a spray bottle. Plus I wanted them to associate my crutches as something to stay clear of.

 

[RunningBum]

I play pickle ball with guys ranging from age 60s to early 80s. One of the 80 yr old guys lunged for a ball and lost his balance and fell. Fortunately he knew how to fall and rolled on his shoulder. He got right up and continued playing. He was a small college QB and remained pretty fit his whole life. That helped a lot.

 

[aja8888]

I play pickle ball with guys ranging from age 60s to early 80s. One of the 80 yr old guys lunged for a ball and lost his balance and fell. Fortunately he knew how to fall and rolled on his shoulder. He got right up and continued playing. He was a small college QB and remained pretty fit his whole life. That helped a lot.

All three of my 75 - 80 year old friends that took falls recently and really hurt themselves, fell at night getting out of bed to go to the bathroom. Two hit nightstands, one hit the toilet. All three were hospitalized, one seriously.

 

[Texas Proud]

Cats can only be taken for a drag on a leash. Don't ask me how I know.

Nope... I had one that would walk with you on a leash... she loved going out and we would only let her go on a leash...

Our BOG (big orange guy) would walk a bit but liked to try and hide in the bushes and get tangled up...

 

[Cujet]

My wife is now hospitalized for a bad fall last night. She’s 65 and destroyed her shoulder in spinning trip and fall. Badly enough that she could not get up and required EMS.

Her iWatch/iPhone had been saying she’s a fall risk and to use assistive devices. Instead, she wore comfy flip flops which she knows trips her up and they caught on the dog’s carpet runner.

It was stupid on many levels. The carpet runner is for a 16 year old dog that can’t walk on tile. Really we would have been better off just covering the floor entirely.

And the flip flops. Just don’t do that!

They can’t repair it with plates and screws. So prob total shoulder replacement. And they are saying nursing home rehab for a while. These things are to some extent preventable. We don’t think it will happen, but it will. And we break easily when older.

 

[pacergal]

Best wishes for a speedy recovery for your wife.

And we definitely bounce less and break more as we age! Falls are extremely dangerous. I do everything I can to avoid them.
I sit at the bedside for several seconds before getting up to let my BP regulate, I practice one leg stands on both feet, I hold onto the rails going up/down stairs, I avoid clogs/flip flops/anything but sturdy foot wear.

 

[Ronstar]

Cujet - Hope your DW recovers quickly! Yep falls are nasty. Hopefully she can walk and keep core/lower body active while the shoulder recuperates.

 

[MarieIG]

I'm very sorry to hear about your DW's fall. Wishing your DW the best recovery possible @Cujet.

 

[Montecfo]

I took a fall on vacation last week. I get up every hour or two at night to pee. I try to stay as close to sleep as possible so I can fall back asleep easier, if that makes sense. I noticed even at home I often stagger and catch myself on a wall, door frame or dresser. I'd even occasionally even leave my bedroom, so I'm somewhat disoriented. Away from home one night last week, I got disoriented and walked around my bed and tripped over my suitcase and fell. The suitcase was very much out of the way from where I should have been. The wall mostly broke my fall but it could have been bad. So I've realized I need to actually wake up and think about where I'm going before getting up. It has helped a lot, even at home this week. No more staggering or wandering the wrong way. I still usually fall back asleep quickly, but even if I don't it's much better than taking a fall.

i think we develop these habits as fit youngsters. Now, I have to take a few seconds just to sit on side of bed before rising or it is easy to start bumping into things until my balancer wakes up .

As young people we may be clumsy at times but we seldom fall because we can react more quickly to perceived loss of balance and have strength in reserve to offset.

Later we just have to make adjustments.

 

[robnplunder]

A few days ago, DW broke her femur when she slipped while getting into a golf cart. We didn't know then why it broke so easily. Later, doctors noted that her bone had developed a deformity due to an Osteoporosis medicine she had been taking for 7 years. It caused the bone to snap easily. The other femur has the same issue. So, she had two operations, one to fix the broken one (right femur), and another (left) to put a rod for a preventive measure. Only 1 percent gets the side effect and she was unlucky.

Fosamax - "Less common, serious side effects can include esophageal problems, osteonecrosis of the jaw, femur fractures, low blood calcium, and severe allergic reactions."

 

[Chuckanut]

Her iWatch/iPhone had been saying she’s a fall risk and to use assistive devices. Instead, she wore comfy flip flops which she knows trips her up and they caught on the dog’s carpet runner.

Since reading an article on balance, toes and toe strength I go barefoot in the house. Flip flops are from the devil.

 

[audreyh1]

One thing I noticed with DF as he got frail was that he didn’t lift his feet enough when walking. He shuffled, which of course means you’re going to hit any little bump in your way. At least he often had a cane with him while shuffling.

 

[Ian S]

My wife is now hospitalized for a bad fall last night. She’s 65 and destroyed her shoulder in spinning trip and fall. Badly enough that she could not get up and required EMS.

Her iWatch/iPhone had been saying she’s a fall risk and to use assistive devices. Instead, she wore comfy flip flops which she knows trips her up and they caught on the dog’s carpet runner.

It was stupid on many levels. The carpet runner is for a 16 year old dog that can’t walk on tile. Really we would have been better off just covering the floor entirely.

And the flip flops. Just don’t do that!

They can’t repair it with plates and screws. So prob total shoulder replacement. And they are saying nursing home rehab for a while. These things are to some extent preventable. We don’t think it will happen, but it will. And we break easily when older.

Very sorry to hear this and I wish for a rapid recovery although, after undergoing rotator cuff surgeries on each of my shoulders, I'm not sure "rapid recovery" should be an expectation when undergoing any shoulder surgery. I was made very aware of the danger to the elderly of falls after my mother died of injuries resulting from one.

 

[Chuckanut]

One thing I noticed with DF as he got frail was that he didn’t lift his feet enough when walking. He shuffled, which of course means you’re going to hit any little bump in your way. At least he often had a cane with him while shuffling.

Will Harlow has a video that addresses losing our leg strength as we age and how to minimize that. He also has a pretty descent book on fitness for the 50+ crowd.

 

[mf15]

Back in March wife on blood thinners for TAVR last year,on one of here 10K step walks. Trips falls on face,breaks nose. Get to ER 1/2 hours face totally black and blue. Now still trying to recover from post concussion syndrome.

 

[Ronstar]

Will Harlow has a video that addresses losing our leg strength as we age and how to minimize that. He also has a pretty descent book on fitness for the 50+ crowd.

Some good advice here. I saw a similar video a few weeks ago. I’ve been doing step-ups, calf raises, bridge ups, dead lifts, leg swings and squats since and it seems like these exercises have already improved my leg strength a little bit.

 

[RetiredAt55.5]

The only way I could get DW out of her flip flops (in the summer) would be to pry them out of her cold, dead hands.

 

[REWahoo]

This thread reminds me of just how dangerous it is to grow old. It's a wonder any of us dares to try it.

 

[audreyh1]

For sure!

 

[FD1000]

Getting old is not for sissies.
I used to play several fast sports: soccer, basketball, and squash, which is much harder than racquetball, until age 50. I could not play to my full potential and started playing double tennis. To my surprise, I was getting injured and pain continuously. By the time I reached 60, I had several surgeries to fix my knees and eventually replaced one knee. I decided not to play anymore, and since then I've felt great. Hardly ever Advil since then.
The answer isn't pickleball; My Ortho loves tennis and pickleball because it made him rich very quickly.
The answer for me has been LA Fitness 3 times per week and doing biking, elliptical, lifting, stretching, balancing and swimming. I also joined an older hiking group, and we hike once per week for 3-4 miles. It's cheap, easy, a great time spending with friends, and the weather in ATL is accommodating. I also walk my dog 2-3 a couple of miles per day. Another exercise is cleaning our big house; it also saves us money

My son noticed that I lost a lot of muscle mass. I started taking protein powder, and within several weeks I started feeling much better and more powerful. Before, I would come home from LA Fitness exhausted. After the protein, just a bit tired, which is normal. He found me a good one on Amazon (link).

Chuckanut: great video.​

For back pain I found the McKenzie Method about 20 years ago. It's simple, it works, and it's known around the world. You can buy his book, 7 Steps to a Pain-Free Life: How to Rapidly Relieve Back, Neck, and Shoulder Pain (link). The video below is a very good one too. Basically, you do the Cobra several times per day for 30 seconds each time until the pain is gone and it does within 4-5 days and then you do it when your lower back hurts one time.