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I am just really, really careful when walking around, even in the house. I do balance exercises every morning plus other daily structured exercise but I don't know what else one can do.
Working on balance is very important. I try to stand on one foot while brushing my teeth. I also practice skiing on one ski (lifting one leg so it & its ski are completely off the snow). That is a bit harder for me, but it is a good balance exercise.
Since taking 3 bad falls between the ages of 61-65 I have learned to slow down and look down when I am walking. I haven’t fallen since and it’s been 4 years. I walk my dogs daily and always have at least 10k steps at the end of the day.
Been there - done that. Knee would suddenly give out.
Took 2 falls DOWN (face plant) and 1 fall UP the stairs (and painfully skinned my shin in the process).
Now, I take stairs very seriously, with one crutch (for 3 point suspension) and one arm free to grab a handrail or other handhold.
This has caused me to engineer solutions that do not require my hands to carry anything.
_ _ stair climbing cart (triple wheel arrangement) + harness to drag it up / down
_ _ tool apron w/ pockets, or
_ _ backpack with tools & small parts (for repairs)
It works.
Regarding balance, I'm thinking of springing for this (not free).
Quote:
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Balance problems
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Hi there,
I was thinking I would go to Thailand after retirement and stay in the nursing homes when needed (no children). Still have decades to go, I think. I have not done research but I heard that quality facilities are lacking. Since you seemed certain that you would go to Thailand-which nursing homes are you thinking? I heard there are very few quality nursing homes in Thailand, let alone any nursing homes. Also, are you thinking to be outside of Bangkok? Thanks in advance for any recommendations.
If you don't mind my chiming in here, I'd been considering a CCRC in Chiang Mai, Thailand (link below). It seems more like a resort than a retirement facility and they have quality healthcare.
Well, on the 21st we are moving from our home on the side of a mountain [47 concrete steps -thought it was 43, but husband insists it's not, checked, he's right] to a small house in eastern kentucky. Though the area is mountainous our actual propert is flat with no steps. We will be closer to oldest son who has told us [we didn't ask] that he would help care for our youngest disabled child when we are unable or gone.
My husband and I have both had major health declines over the past several years. I have greatly changed my eating habits. I do OMAD 6 days a week and only allow myself bad carbs on one. I have lost a few pounds but don't want to lose much more because I have a BMI of 24 and worry about the 'obesity paradox.'
I am exercising a little more and much more careefully. Just added the plank[doing horribly with it so far] and the wall sit because of the news coming out about how it helps keep blood pressure down.
Meditation. I have been fighting with youngest sons about learning some self care skills and he is finally ammendable which gives me more peace of mind.
Balance has been a problem with me since a small child. Am doing more balance exercises but i'm not even close to standing on one foot without holding a chair for support.
Though we have family members-quite a few- they live 4 hours away and we don't see them often. Besides that, we have pretty much self-isolated for years but we are already getting to know members at the nearby senior center through their facebook.
youngest son loves to fish. He has less seizures. My husband and nephew [who lives with us] fish with him and I have agreed to start fishing with him in Kentucky, only if I don't have to kill or clean the fish. This could be good for our entire family.
With moving we also had to give up our beloved chickens and goats. They were too much work for us because our property is so tilted so that will be better.
I have a will but can't convince my husband to even think about it. Besides meditating I'm not sure what else we can do. At least until we get settled in our new home. I do want to work on getting off of statins.
This topic is very on point. I am 60 years old and at the end of 2022, I really started to have problems with my right hip to the point that we had to stop walking our dogs in the morning and I could not even bend down to feed them. My ortho suggested hip replacement. I was worried about it because my son is getting married next month and I was concerned about the recovery time. They said it was easy. I would recover quickly. I'd be dancing within a few weeks. Well that may be the case for most people but I had femoral nerve damage from the surgery that I had on St. Patrick's Day 2023. Only 1% of people get this issue. I could not walk without a walker for 3 months then moved on to a cane. I could not drive because I could not lift my right leg up. I could not go up and down steps. I was completely dependent on my husband and thank God that I have a husband because if I were alone, I don't know what I would have done. It was 5 months yesterday since my surgery and I still have a lot of nerve pain but I am now able to drive and walk again. It gave me a very clear picture of what it could be like in the future and it was not pleasant.
Yes, I had my bad fall at 62 when I was out of state playing basketball on the driveway with my grandkids. The 3 year old was getting ready to plow into me and I twisted so I didn't fall on her when we collided. Broke my left wrist and shattered my right elbow. That was a hard, hard fall and thank God he puts us into shock so we don't feel the pain right away. It was seven hours of surgery to put me back together again. Thankfully I healed quickly and I'm functional. But it took me a long time to get over the fear of falling to be able to even walk the neighborhood again. I still am a little wary hiking trails.
I also stand on one foot and do lots of other balance exercises and just started doing Tai Chi.
"We’re Retired and Healthy. But How Do We Plan for Our Decline? An accident on vacation was an unpleasant reminder"
I have decided to postpone my decline.
So I work out 3X a week and do my own yard work. I eat meat and plenty of it, but I keep my weight down.
I will eventually decline, and for that day I keep myself well insured and make sure my finances are always in order. If the time comes for me to move into an assisted care facility of some sort I will not complain or make it difficult for everyone else (I have seen that done).
As far as I know, that is everything that can be done.
This topic is very on point. I am 60 years old and at the end of 2022, I really started to have problems with my right hip to the point that we had to stop walking our dogs in the morning and I could not even bend down to feed them. My ortho suggested hip replacement. I was worried about it because my son is getting married next month and I was concerned about the recovery time. They said it was easy. I would recover quickly. I'd be dancing within a few weeks. Well that may be the case for most people but I had femoral nerve damage from the surgery that I had on St. Patrick's Day 2023. Only 1% of people get this issue. I could not walk without a walker for 3 months then moved on to a cane. I could not drive because I could not lift my right leg up. I could not go up and down steps. I was completely dependent on my husband and thank God that I have a husband because if I were alone, I don't know what I would have done. It was 5 months yesterday since my surgery and I still have a lot of nerve pain but I am now able to drive and walk again. It gave me a very clear picture of what it could be like in the future and it was not pleasant.
Sorry you went through that.
You point out a potential hole in our health recovery system for those who are spouse-less/partner-less. Health insurance doesn't typically cover the type of living assistance a patient needs during an unusually lengthy recuperation.
I don't want to quit moderate hiking because of fear of falling and breaking an arm, a wrist or a hip. But my husband is 75 so I choose "easy" hikes and if the description is not accurate (they can be off) he'll stop where he wants to and I'll go on.
We started playing table tennis 7 months ago and that has been great for aerobics through this horrible heatwave that prevents even neighborhood walks, we have moderate ups and down terrain here in Charlotte NC. We found a senior center with decent table tennis players and we work up a sweat. It started when I gave DH ping pong table as Christmas present.
Our house has been 1 level for past 15 years but some "senior" add-ons wall bars for bathtub and toilet need to be added for future use.
Husband had a painful leg 4 months ago and he had to insist to his doctor to schedule MRI to check on what was what. His doctor said it took work to get insurance to agree but MRI showed DVT there so husband was right to push. He and I have good supplement plan to Medicare, don't know why he needed to insist on this test. He's now got pain in other calf and will be talking to same doc Tuesday to get another MRI. Husband is not sedentary at all, does floor Pilates 1X week and table tennis 3x week and generally active. Clots happen. Husband is great weight, eats healthy, DNA counts for a lot.
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