‘A Matter of Balance’ graduates in October at the White Rock Senior Activity Center. Courtesy photo

Glenn Banks of Christus St. Vincent demonstrates various ways to get up after a fall, emphasizing the importance of having sturdy support to help. Photo by Bernadette Lauritzen

By BERNADETTE LAURITZEN
Los Alamos

As we move toward the winter months, the Matter of Balance team has completed their final fall prevention program. Judy Lovejoy and I have continued the program we started in May of 2023. I wanted to salute additional original teammates Kate Cleveland and Loretta Stubbs who completed our goal of having multi-generational teachers but left to pursue other work.

Our advice to seniors who couldn’t take the classes is simple: “Slow Down and Stop carrying so many things at once.” We have learned throughout our training and stories shared with every class that the bulk of falls happen when one or two of those items are present. The other imperative piece of advice is to make sure your eyeglass prescription and your hearing aids are up to date. If you haven’t been willing to address hearing aids or haven’t had a tune-up or new pair in years, read up on how hearing aids may reduce some dementia in the future. Judy would say, “Hearing aids are just glasses for your ears.”

If you do fall, stop and assess the situation before doing anything. If you think there’s a problem with your balance, tell your doctor. Ask the doctor if you can get an assessment from a physical therapist. They can often teach you simple changes that will help balance, from hydration and protein to the shoes you wear every day. If you already walk and drag your feet, or feel your way down the wall, trouble is afoot.

Many thanks to the wonderful Glenn Banks from Christus St. Vincent Sports Medicine and Kevin Schoenberger from the Los Alamos Medical Center. They volunteered their time as professionals to address every class. Glenn became a friend of the senior center during COVID. He worked hand in hand to address the needs of seniors at every turn. He is a bright light in this community, and I will miss collaborating with him the most.

So, where do you go from here? Watch for fall prevention opportunities from the Betty Ehart and White Rock Senior Activity Centers throughout the year. ALWAYS look for classes that are evidence based and remember you don’t have to be huffing and puffing to improve balance.

The Betty Ehart Senior Activity Center offers Tai Chi classes from 2-3 p.m., Wednesdays. Tai Chi is evidence based and can combat not only balance, but also arthritis and more. If you have a connection with LANL as a current or former employee, their Hinge Health program has some great balance and pain relief opportunities. It can all be done on your cell phone, computer, or iPad. I’ve always said, “Movement is medicine and motion is the potion,” so keep moving, even if it is taking laps down the hallway in your house or grabbing a grocery cart and walking laps around the Los Alamos or White Rock Smith’s.

If you need a device to walk, cane, trekking polls, walker or rollator, try it out while you’re still in a good place mentally. If you wait too long, it could be too late for your brain to accept something new. Finally, as snow is on the way, in the words of the second director of the senior centers, Pauline Powell Schneider, “Remember to walk like a penguin.”

That translates to slow down and pay attention to where you walk.