Focus on Feet and Core to Prevent Falling

Each year, one in every four Americans age 65+ takes a dangerous fall. Furthermore, after they fall once, they’re twice as likely to fall again. That’s why health experts devote the entire month of September to Falls Prevention Awareness, offering seniors specific advice on how to prevent falling.

Our advice: fix your feet
At Monmouth County’s Affiliated Foot & Ankle Center, we focus on caring for the feet and ankles. Maintaining good foot health plays an enormous role in preventing falls. The feet act as your foundation. Think about the foundation of a house: if it’s cracked or off-kilter, it can’t support the structure above. Without a firm foundation, the structure may come tumbling down.

So, one of the first and best ways to prevent yourself from tumbling down is to fix any issues with your foundation - your feet. As you age, your feet are prone to problems such as inflammation (heel pain and arthritis, for example), bunions, toe deformities, and fallen arches. Our board-certified podiatrists can improve or eliminate your foot symptoms and, in turn, reduce your risk of going down.

Fixing your feet may be as simple as inserting custom orthotics into your shoes. Physical therapy can strengthen your weak ankles. Surgery to repair a hammertoe or bunion can improve your balance.

More advice: strengthen your core
You’re more likely to fall if you’ve got a weak core - the area between your back and your buttocks, including your abdominal area. Strong core muscles keep you upright and help you “catch” yourself when you start to fall. By contrast, weak muscles in your core contribute to poor balance.

Seniors should remain active to keep a strong core. Low-impact exercises such as walking and swimming are ideal. You can also ask a doctor, trainer, or physical therapist to show you some targeted core-strengthening exercises that you can easily perform at home.

Focusing on these two areas, your feet and your core, will help prevent you from falling. If you’d like further information, call us at (732) 905-1110. Make an appointment with one of our board-certified podiatrists, Dr. Samantha Boyd, Dr. Hal Ornstein, Dr. Dan Phan, or Dr. Joseph Saka in our Howell or Jackson podiatry offices. We’re happy to treat your foot pain or perform a falls risk assessment for yourself or for a senior citizen you care about.