Hello again everyone and thank you for taking the time to read this post. Today I wanted to write about something that is very often overlooked when it comes to living an independent and active life, and that is your Mindset.
Many people who have fallen and are worried about falls won’t typically tell me about the things that they can do, what we focus on is the things that we can’t.
Q. But what has that got to do with why I have problems with my balance and falls???
A. Everything!
I will need to explain this, so please do read on –
So, your brain is telling you that you can’t go out and meet friends for coffee because, for example, as you felt quite tired out for a couple of days after the last time and when that happened you fell in the house or had a ‘near miss’.
You then don’t go out and instead you stay in and potter around the house. Feeling a bit upset that you haven’t met your friends, but you’re glad that you don’t have quite as much worry about falling or flaring up aches and pains.
By focusing on what you can’t do, or what you are anxious about doing, you have 1) missed out on invaluable friendship and support, and 2) been less active.
We already know how important keeping in touch with our friends and family is and we know that our mental health and wellbeing is strongly related to how socially active we are.
What I would like to focus on is 2) being less active – you have been less active and ‘nothing untoward’ has happened. Unfortunately, what you will find is that you are now setting a pattern in your brain – ‘I can’t do……….’ – so you gradually make more excuses for being less active. The less active you are, the less you are using your muscles and joints, so the weaker and stiffer you get. This leads to your brain telling saying ‘I can’t do ………’ more often, which leads to becoming even weaker and stiffer, making problems with your balance, joint aches and pains, and falls even more likely to happen!
I hope you are starting to see now just how important your mindset is in keeping you independent and active as you age.
Q. So you’re saying that I should push myself to do these things and keep active even though I know I’m likely to fall because of it? Or my aches and pains will flare up?
A. No!
Q. Oh come on! You just said how important keeping active is and now you’re telling me not to be active????
A. I know, and I apologise for this, please read on and hopefully this will make a bit more sense!
The reason you are having problems with aches and pains, balance problems and falls is because You already have problems with muscle weakness, joint stiffness and arthritis (as well as other medical conditions). This is where getting the right support, guidance and advice from someone who specialises in helping older adults keep active, independent and free from falls and balance problems is incredibly important. You are an individual with individual problems and difficulties, to be able to give you advice specific to you requires an in-depth assessment from a specialist.
Q. OK, so I understand that I need some help, what should I be doing now?
A. I have created a FREE Tips Report for people, just like you, who are looking for some help in getting started – Click here – fill out our online form and we will be in touch to get it sent out to you.
In the Free Tips Report you will get some straight forward advice and some simple exercises that should be of benefit to getting you started.
Thank you for taking the time to read this article and I hope you have found it of value.
If you would like support from someone who Specialises in falls prevention and helping people Live and Active and Independent Life free from the fear of falls, please Click Here to get in touch and we will be able to give you a call back to see if we can help.
J Fraser Simpson
Chartered Physiotherapist
Neurological and Older Adult Specialist Physiotherapist
