11 Reasons You Should Start Protecting Your Joints in Your 20s and 30s
With balance and strength declining as we age, often after the mid-50s, you may think that you don’t need to worry about improving these skills until much later in life. The truth is that maintaining physical fitness throughout your 20s and 30s comes with a number of benefits that can help set you up for better overall health long-term. Let’s take a look at a few key reasons why it’s never too early to start prioritizing your joint health.
How to Fall Correctly to Prevent Hand Injuries
As a physical therapist and hand therapist, one of the biggest concerns I hear from my patients is that they are worried they are going to fall and hurt themselves. It is not uncommon for a therapist to be treating injuries that resulted from a fall. The upper extremity (shoulder through the fingers) is a common place for injuries to occur following a fall as many will use their hands to brace their fall in order to protect their face or head. This type of fall is called a F.O.O.S.H or a fall on an outstretched hand. This blog will briefly look into common injuries of the upper extremity with a fall and will talk about ways to prevent these injuries.
Fall Risk Assessment Tools for Clinicians
Falls in older adults are a significant concern in all of healthcare. Fall death rates have increased 30 percent from 2007 to 2016.1 Every year, 3 million older adults are treated in the emergency department for fall related injuries.2 Patients who experience falls can become trapped in a cycle where they are afraid of falling and limit their activity leading to greater deconditioning and increase their risk for subsequent falls. Medicare mandates that patients who are over the age of 65 should be screened annually for falls by a healthcare provider. In states with direct access laws, physical therapists may be the only medical contact that the patient has in a calendar year. We can be the first to find out if patients are at a risk for falls and proactively address their deficits.
Are You at Risk for Falling?
The fall season is almost over for 2019, but for adults over the age of 65 the fall season never ends. According to the National Council on Aging, one out of every four older adults fall each year and of those seniors who fall, every 11 seconds they go to an ER. What’s even more alarming is that every 19 minutes someone dies from a fall related injury. Falls are the leading cause of fatal and non-fatal injuries in senior citizens.1
Winter Falls and Distal Radius Fractures
When it’s cold and slippery, many of us struggle with keeping our balance and maintaining an upright position. When this happens, we often fall onto our outstretched hand, which can result in serious injury.
