The role of our minds in the avoidance of falls

A few years ago, my grandmother suffered a fall and broke her hip. She has never fully recovered and is now constantly fearful of falling, and has significantly limited her activities to prevent a fall from ever happening again. As a scientist focused on translational research in mobility and falls in older adults, of course I asked her how she fell. She stated that she was standing in the kitchen and reading a recipe when the phone rang. When she turned and started to walk over to the phone, her feet “weren’t in the right spot.” She fell sideways and unfortunately, her hip was unable to absorb the impact without breaking. For older adults, falls are a leading cause of hip and wrist fractures, concussions, mobility disability, loss of independence, and even death. As it turns out, the circumstances leading up to my grandmother’s fall were typical. In fact, the majority of falls occur when an individual is “dual-tasking;” that is, standing or walking while at the same time performing a separate cognitive task (such as reading), a motor task (carrying groceries), or both (walking while talking and carrying a cup of coffee). Why does dual-tasking (or multitasking) often lead to falls in older adults? It turns out that the seemingly simple acts of standing upright, or walking down an empty, well-lit hallway, are quite complex. To complete these tasks, we must continuously stabilize our body’s center of mass — a point located just behind our sternum — over the re...
Source: Harvard Health Blog - Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Tags: Bones and joints Caregiving Healthy Aging Neurological conditions Source Type: blogs