12 Steps to Chair Safety at Home

Many seniors who live in their homes often worry about being injured as a result of a fall.  This is a concern to their children too, especially in homes with staircases.  Falls are caused by a lack of balance, or an inability to recover when the senior loses his/her balance.  Poor balance can be related to side effects from medication, some physical or cognitive diseases, environmental hazards or impaired mobility or vision. 

Statistics show that falls present a significant health risk for seniors.

• 1/3 of people aged 65+ typically fall once a year or more
• falls are the most common cause of injury and the 6th leading cause of death in seniors
• the Canadian health care system spends about $6-billion a year on injuries sustained by seniors because of falls
• almost half of admissions to long-term care facilities are related to falls
• most falls occur in seniors' homes, while they are doing normal daily activities
• 40% of falls that require hospitalization involve hip fractures
• women are 3 times more likely than men to be hospitalized for a fall

Seniors are at particular risk of falling on stairs, and more likely to suffer severe injury when they fall. In fact, seniors aged 65+ account for 70% of the deaths resulting from stair accidents.

The Public Health Agency of Canada offers 12 tips on how to improve your safety on stairs in your home. 
1.  Have well lit staircases.  Install lighs and switches at the top and bottom of your stairs.
2.  Make sure your steps are in good repair.  There should not be an uneven surfaces, cracks, bunched-up carpeting or protruding nails.  Hardwood stairs can be slippery when walking in stocking feet, and can cause more injury if you fall.  Consider adding a well secured runner down the staircase.
3.  Make sure all the steps are the same size and height.  Uneven steps are a hazard.
4.  Enhance the visibility of each step so you can clearly see the edges.  This can be done by painting the edges a contrasting colour or by applying special strips to enhance the visibility of the step.
5.  Make sure your carpeting or runners are well-secured.
6.  Have a solid, well-attached handrail that you can get your hand around.
7.  There should be a handrail on at lease one side of every staircase, and the height should allow you to comfortably hold it with your arm slightly bent at the elbow.
8.  Avoid leaving any clutter on the staircase.
9.  Remove throw rugs and loose carpeting from the landings.
10. Don't rush on the stairs.  Go slowly, holding the handrail.
11. Limit what you carry up or down the stairs.  You should be able to see the stairs, and have a hand on the handrail.
12. Remove your reading glasses when going up or down stairs.

For more information about the prevention of falls in seniors:
Injury Research in B.C.
Public Health Agency

Exercise and Fitness Tips for Gen-50plus

The following article about the benefits of exercise for Gen-50plus adults is an exerpt from a longer article found on the HelpGuide website. Walking is one great type of exercise for aging adults, but so are aquafit exercises and yoga. 

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The whole-body benefits of exercise for seniors

As you age, regular exercise is more important than ever to your body and mind.

Physical health benefits of senior exercise and fitness

• Exercise helps seniors maintain or lose weight. As metabolism naturally slows with age, maintaining a healthy weight is a challenge. Exercise helps increase metabolism and builds muscle mass, helping to burn more calories. When your body reaches a healthy weight, overall wellness improves.
• Exercise reduces the impact of illness and chronic disease. Among the many benefits of exercise for seniors include improved immune function, better heart health and blood pressure, better bone density, and better digestive functioning. Seniors who exercise also have a lowered risk of several chronic conditions including Alzheimer’s disease, diabetes, obesity, heart disease, osteoporosis, and colon cancer.
• Exercise enhances mobility, flexibility, and balance in seniors. Exercise improves your strength, flexibility and posture, which in turn will help with balance, coordination, and reducing the risk of falls. Strength training also helps alleviate the symptoms of chronic conditions such as arthritis.

Mental health benefits of senior exercise and fitness

• Exercise improves your sleep. Poor sleep is not an automatic consequence of aging and quality sleep is important for your overall health. Exercise often improves sleep, helping you fall asleep more quickly and sleep more deeply.
• Exercise boosts mood and self-confidence. Endorphins produced by exercise can actually help you feel better and reduce feelings of sadness or depression. Being active and feeling strong naturally helps you feel more self confident and sure of yourself.
• Exercise is good for the brain. Exercise benefits regular brain functions and can help keep the brain active, which can prevent memory loss, cognitive decline, and dementia. Exercise may even help slow the progression of brain disorders such as Alzheimer’s disease.

Senior exercise and fitness: Tips for getting started safely

Are you ready to begin an exercise program? Congratulations! Committing to a routine of physical activity is one of the healthiest decisions you can make. Before you get moving, consider how best to be safe.

• Get medical clearance from your doctor before starting an exercise program, especially if you have a preexisting condition. Ask if there are any activities you should avoid.
• Consider health concerns. Keep in mind how your ongoing health problems affect your workouts. For example, diabetics may need to adjust the timing of medication and meal plans when setting an exercise schedule. Above all, if something feels wrong, such as sharp pain or unusual shortness of breath, simply stop. You may need to scale back or try another activity.
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• Start slow. If you haven’t been active in a while, it can be harmful to go “all out.” Instead, build up your exercise program little by little. Try spacing workouts in ten-minute increments twice a day. Or try just one class each week. Prevent crash-and-burn fatigue by warming up, cooling down, and keeping water handy.
• Recognize problems. Exercise should never hurt or make you feel lousy. Stop exercising immediately and call your doctor if you feel dizzy or short of breath, develop chest pain or pressure, break out in a cold sweat, or experience pain. Also stop if a joint is red, swollen, or tender to touch.

Senior fitness and exercise: Tips for building a balanced exercise plan

Staying active is not a science. Just remember that mixing different types of exercise helps both reduce monotony and improve your overall health. Here is an overview of the four building blocks of senior fitness and how they can help your body.

The 1st building block of senior fitness: Cardio endurance exercise

• What is it: Uses large muscle groups in rhythmic motions over a period of time. This type of exercise increases your body’s ability to deliver oxygen and nutrients to tissues and to remove waste over sustained periods of time. Cardio workouts get your heart pumping and you may even feel a little short of breath.
• Why it’s good for seniors: Helps lessen fatigue and shortness of breath. Promotes independence by improving endurance for daily activities such as walking, house cleaning, and errands. Cardio includes walking, stair climbing, swimming, hiking, cycling, rowing, tennis, and dancing.

The 2nd building block of senior fitness: Strength training

• What is it: Builds up muscle with repetitive motion using weight or external resistance from body weight, machines, or elastic bands.
• Why it’s good for seniors: Helps elderly people prevent loss of bone mass, builds muscle, and improves balance—both important in staying active and preventing risk of falling. Building up strength will help seniors stay independent and make day-to-day activities easier such as opening a jar, getting in and out of a car, and lifting objects.

The 3rd building block of senior fitness: Flexibility

• What is it: Challenges the joint’s ability to move freely through a full range of motion (ROM). Can be done through static stretches (stationary), and ballistic stretches (moving or bouncing) to keep muscles and joints supple so they are less prone to injury.
• Why it’s good for seniors: Helps body stay limber and increases range of movement for ordinary physical activities such as looking behind you while driving, tying shoes, shampooing your hair, and playing with grandchildren.

The 4th building block of senior fitness: Balance

• What is it: Maintains standing and stability under a variety of conditions including static (stationary) and dynamic (moving) balance.
• Why it’s good for seniors: Improves balance, posture, and quality of walking. Also reduces risk of falling and fear of falls. Try yoga, Tai Chi, and posture exercises to gain confidence with balance.

Types of activities that are beneficial to seniors:

• Walking. Walking is a perfect way to start exercising. It requires no special equipment, aside from a pair of comfortable walking shoes, and can be done anywhere.
• Senior sports or fitness classes. Keeps motivation alive while also providing a source of fun, stress relief, and a place to meet friends.
• Water aerobics and water sports. Working out in water is wonderful for seniors because water reduces stress and strain on the body's joints.
• Yoga. Combines a series of poses with breathing. Moving through the poses works on strength, flexibility and balance. Yoga can be adapted to any level.
• Tai Chi and Qi Gong. Martial arts-inspired systems of movement that increase balance and strength. Classes for seniors are often available at your local YMCA or community center.

Travel to "exotic" destinations may come with some health risks

No longer satisfied with lounging on the beach in some Florida resort, today's Gen-50plus are opting for more exotic destinations when they travel. Trips to Asia, Africa, South America are on the bucket-lists of many Boomers seeking to experience new cultures, adventures and personal challenges.  Opportunities to live, work and play anywhere in the world are the reality for today's generation of young adults, and an increasing number of their parents also want to play in and explore the global village.

Today's Boomers are already beginning to dominate the foreign travel market, and that shift promises to increase exponentially as the Gen-50plus population grows.

"This generation is more educated, has more disposable income, has more available time for leisure and travel and is more likely to have engaged in international travel earlier in life than preceding generations. Data suggest that seniors are neither deterred from travel by chronic health conditions, nor adequately prepared," says a recent report by the Public Health Agency of Canada.

A report sends out a cautionary note to Boomers planning to travel to foreign shores.  Older people travelling abroad face a number of health risks, including more danger of blood clots on long flights, negative reactions to tropical disease vaccines, greater vulnerability to infectious diseases, diminished immune systems that weaken the protection offered by vaccines and increased complications for seniors with chronic health problems.  For example, the threat of serious complications from malaria nearly doubles to 61% among those over 60 comparabled to adults generally. And the vaccine for yellow fever, which is recommended for travel in Africa, can cause rare but potentially fatal neurological side effects, with the risk almost tripling for those over 70. 

Do these increased health risks mean older adults should go back to the quiet beaches of Florida?  Not at all. They do, however, need to be more aware of the risks and better prepared when they travel.  They should, for instance, carry detailed medical information with them about their health conditions and make sure they have enough medication to last their entire trip.

This information appears in a National Post article by Tom Blackwell, July 22/11 that can be read at: 
Bucket-list pensioners packing health risks.
Read the Public Health Agency of Canada report.

Hydration / Dehydration

By Nancy Roberts | Information Specialist, Library Service, Leslie Whittington-Carter, Nutrition CoP Lead 

Environment Canada confirms sizzling summer nationwide (1.) This can prove to be extremely dangerous for our seniors in all care settings. Seniors at the highest risk are those who do not drink enough or sweat frequently or severely.
Older adults tend to have a diminished thirst sensation, making them less likely to notice when they need to drink, and sometimes will consciously restrict fluids to avoid trips to the washroom which can be difficult due to mobility issues.
Dehydration can also be caused as a side effect of medications such as diuretics or laxatives or some medical problems such as diarrhea, vomiting, heat stroke, high blood sugar (hyperglycemia), infections, excessive exercise and general malnutrition (2.) Early detection and intervention by care providers can prevent hospitalizations and even death.

1. Global News June 1, 2011. Environment Canada confirms sizzling summer nationwide. Cited June 3, 2011
2. Caring For Aging Parents. Dehydration in the elderly. Cited June 3, 2011

Source:  Seniors Health Research Transfer Network Newsletter, June, 2011