View Full Version : I've Fallen and I Can't Get Up!
How often I've laughed at that commercial...............now I'm living it.
Yesterday, I fell down twice in the snow. Fortunately, they were really soft landings with all the snow we've had..........but I had a heck of a time getting back up! Usually, there's something to grab on to close by, but this time there wasn't. Well, one time I had the hood of the car to grab, but when I did, the snow on it made it slick and I fell down again.
What is it about getting older that makes it so danged hard to get up and down from the floor/ground? Its not like anything hurts while I'm trying to get up. I just can't make it happen. Its crazy.
So............now I'm living that silly commercial..........
Haven't seen the commercial but falling is a fear of everyone at all ages except maybe little children. It is as with other skills, find a way of managing yourself. A friend is attending a fitness class for seniors that teaches balance, preventing falls and getting back up. She says that older adults of all ages and abilities are attending this class taught by a physiotherapist and support staff. Even learning how to sit properly in order to get up and strengthen those muscles gives greater confidence.
Walking the dog through the fresh soft snow on an icy base, I take a walking stick so that I have a three-part stability that has helped me numerous times. I do fall and now know to roll to one side and move in stages to get back up. That is, if the dog doesn't lick me back down again, lol.
That happened to me last year, January. I was on my way to mentor and was taking my usual, mincing steps and the next moment I was on the ground. Even there, I could not see the black ice that prevented me from gaining any traction to pull myself up.
I kept trying and then crawled, on my crummy knees, back to the porch and lifted myself there. Falling has been a life-long fear, and more so now that I am old. I also broke some bones in my foot. I like the idea of the class, razz, and am going to look into that today.
I worked with a physical therapist last year that taught me the best way to get up & down out of a chair and how to stand with the least amount of stress on joints - both involve one foot slightly in front of the other.
Also, I was having some pain while walking in deep snow and by simply turning my thumbs forward as I walked it helped my knees !!!!!
Point being...
Do you have a physical therapist friend or educated exercise person in your life? If so, pick their brain. They love to help when asked.
Razz is spot on using sticks for stability.
I have a pair of Leki hiking sticks that I have had for 15 years and have come in handy for all kinds of things once my backpacking days were put on hold for a bit.
Here's a local news piece on 'how to fall correctly' - funny at end of piece it says 2nd fall trying to get up is what usually hurts people most, but they don't teach how to get up
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TgGmHE3-ktY
I looked around for a few minutes for a video on how to get up but couldn't find one quickly
Maybe we should carry one of those collapsible canes at all times? (and hope it doesn't collapse at the wrong moment).
I agree ........that's a good idea Razz.....to learn how to fall and how to get back up!
I just find it really weird that I can't explain why I can't get up. Nothing hurts, things are bending okay (sort of)......but I just can't get up easily. I suppose slight weakening of the muscles could be the problem. Plus....if we can't bend our knees like we used to, I suppose our "physics" of getting up are all off.
Something sort of similar.........a couple of my fingers are bent because of arthritis.....and there are times where I can't pick things up because of it. I'm afraid I'm not growing old very gracefully.
I can no longer squat, or get up from the ground without boosting with my arms. It's a combo of arthritis in my knees, a weak core & weak leg muscles. I plan to remedy this in 2014. I'm trashing my right shoulder from boosting myself. I'm better than I was last year, as I am walking 6000-10,000 steps a day, which has helped my overall strength. I'll be seeing a PT for strength & balance work.
I too have a new found fear of falling due to several occurrences in the past two years. I consider myself pretty agile and healthy for my age but apparently aging takes a toll not always evident. I fell while walking at night (stepped in a pothole) quite some time ago and have experienced an on again off again hip pain ever since. Another time, I slipped on ice and smacked right down on my butt before I knew what was happening. Hit the back of my knee that time very hard and it still ouches. Wondering if I cracked something both times but I never got it checked out. I have always tried to instinctively roll when I fall - tuck hip under and shoulder roll. And yes, it feels bizarre not to be able to get up quite as easily once down.
I too have had the problem. One time I went to a Physical therapist who worked on my hips. It helped, he also gave me back stretches. Now I am doing walking and stretches to improve things and it seems to help. I read in some book that we fall all the time, but catch ourselves....when we cannot catch ourselves due to lack of core muscle strength then we fall. I haven't fallen since I started doing my squats ( 5 a day in front of the sink so I can grab on), neck and shoulder stretches and knee stretches. It only takes 15 minutes each morning while waiting for the coffee to brew and I am convinced that is what has helped. Yoga works, too. I have upped my steps from 2000 last January to 7000 this January and am sure that has helped as well. I'm female 65 and 200 pounds. Never athletic or sports oriented although I loved aerobic dancing for a while.
Sad Eyed Lady
2-6-14, 1:36pm
I am so glad that I am not the only one with a fear of falling; it makes me not feel so irrational. I have this fear and thought maybe it was "getting old" that caused me to have this. I also know that one concrete reason is because I had a fall, (not on ice - this was from being tossed by an uneven chair I climbed on to reach something), and broke two bones in my foot. One did not heal correctly and from the x-ray the two halves of this broken bone were "displaced" and so this tiny little connecting thing grew out to connect them. Now I have this fear that if I fall again that would be easily broken and the thought of being in a cast up to my knee again for 6 weeks is daunting to say the least. Now I dread slippery walkways, and don't get out unless I have too till things are pretty clear again. Unfortunately we haven't seen clear for awhile!
There's no way on earth I'm going to do squats. My knees are almost both bone-on-bone and I try not to tick them off.
But I do know that there are several exercises for my legs that I can do, that will strengthen the muscles that support my legs. So when my knees really start acting up, I do those exercises and it buys me another couple of months.
I developed fibromyalgia about 25 years ago and it has really affected me. When I trip, my muscles just don't seem fast enough to catch me........in fact, they seem to turn to stone instead. Also, when I start to trip, it feels like every nerve in my body fires.
I'm starting to realize that I'm losing some of my sense of balance too........especially when its dark. Its really weird. I first noticed that when I close my eyes, I'm a little less stable. Then, a couple times when I was looking at stars outside in the dark, I was wobbly too. I know there are exercises to help with this. Some are sitting on one of those big exercise balls and closing your eyes and trying to balance. Wish I had a really good personal physical therapist. A good one knows so many neat things. For example........if you're trying to strengthen some of the muscles around your knee, you can lay or sit with your leg supported and lift your leg up a little, then down....but........if you tilt your foot out a little (to the side), it strengthens a very particular muscle. A good physical therapist knows those things..........but not all of them do.
Sometimes I get a bit paranoid. I wear New Balance shoes that have alot of deep groves on the soles. But.........I'm constantly slipping on floors everywhere. Everybody around me is walking fast, and there I am taking these stupid little steps, so I don't slip.
I am now in my 60s and 8 months ago started with a 4-5 day a week exercise program at a local gym. I do mostly classes. One is a low impact cardio and strength class and another is a class based on using weights (or none) and working the big muscle groups. I can now squat, walk without pain, do many more abdominal crunchs and have much more overall strength. I really started with nothing and extremely painful knees and that is now all gone.
I am converted to the need for exercise. My classes are adaptable for any age and we even have two in their 90s attending. They are great role models.
Husband and I have each lost 35 pounds and that also is an important part of keeping knees and muscles working. Carrying too much weight, like we did, is not a good thing.
DH fell yesterday too. However, he was not so lucky. He broke his left wrist. I was out shopping and he waited for me to get home to take him to the ER. We will find out Monday if he can just get a cast or if they need to do surgery. The positive is that he is right handed. Tuesday we are leaving for vacation. Isn't that the way?
Oh what a bummer frugal-one! Hopefully he will just need a cast. Good luck!
rodeosweetheart
2-6-14, 4:56pm
Do you live anywhere near a hospital, CathyA? WE used to have one down in SC where you could get a fitness membership and the exercise room was geared for this kind of physical therapy, but it was open to the public to join, you did not have to be a patient?
I can get back up if I roll over on one knee but bending my knees is very painful because of arthritis, so I try to limit going down on the floor, and push myself up with my arms.
I did have an experience where I could not get back up though, after a hospitalization where i was in a coma, and I lost all strength in arms and legs--I remember getting into the bathroom with my walker and not being able to get back up from the toilet, even with the grab bar. It was probably the most humiliating experience of my life.
Frugal--did not see your post, oh you poor guys, so sorry this happened right before the vacation!
I think those "Life Alert" type things are pretty nice for people who live alone. I think it lets older people live independently for a little longer, but have help when needed.
I've never really had a fear of falling, with no problem getting up from the floor, then 2 days ago, like frugal-one's husband i slipped on the ice and broke my arm. MY feet just flew out from under me. I hit my head on the concrete too, really rung my clock. i lay there holding my head, then visions of my husband coming home to find me dead and frozen in the drive made me get up. what a stupid thing to do. and of course it's my right arm so i sit here helpless. dumb dumb dumb.
thing is, i started doing strength and balance exercises this winter cause i don't want to end up creeping along in my old age. i'll still do the exercises but this just throws a wrench into things. one thing that really got me doing these exercises is i read somewhere that one sign of 'losing' it was to fail to get up from a crossed legged position without using your hands. i totally failed.
rodeosweetheart
2-6-14, 5:31pm
Oh Peggy, sorry to hear that, gosh, hope you are on the mend now!
I respond to several calls a week that are nothing more than "I've fallen and can't get up" calls.
Luckily, most of them involve simply assisting the person back up, and checking them over to make sure there wasn't trauma, or some underlying condition.
Had one a couple weeks ago, nice lady fell down a whole flight of stairs, hit her head repeatedly, if it hadn't been for an almost foolishly-brave air evac crew punching through a hole in the fog to get down here, she would have died from the brain herniation that was occurring from the hematoma.
I was at another call some months ago. The spouse of the patient we were treating tripped over one of our oxygen tanks, and went over. She was in her 80s, I thought, watching her fragile-looking body fall, that we were going to have two patients. Instead, she executed a textbook-perfect breakfall and roll, and came back onto her feet without breaking stride. Turns out she has an advanced blackbelt in Judo, and had been practicing for many decades.
The people I observe who have fallen typically have lost core strength, flexibility, and may have underlying medical conditions contributing to balance problems.
Bottom line message: do not go gently into that good night, keep up your strength and flexibility as you age, whatever it takes.
Oh dang Peggy.........I'm sorry to hear that! What a bummer. Just be careful that you don't develop any head symptoms from hitting it so hard.
LOL bae..........when you described that very elderly lady doing a perfect breakfall and roll and came up to her feet........I pictured her putting her arms in the air like a gymnast at the end of a routine on the bars. haha
Sad Eyed Lady
2-6-14, 6:58pm
I am sorry to hear about the ones that have had falls resulting in breaks this week. I hope you both mend quickly with minimum treatment needed, (no surgery for example). Frugal-one, hope your vacation is great anyway.
As to what bae and a couple of others have said, I too believe exercise is the key to being more agile, having more strength and flexibility as we age. I have been a dedicated walker for many years, some strength training and some yoga. I think the yoga pose, (is it tree?), standing on one leg with the foot of the other leg resting against inner thigh (or lower if need be) is great for helping one's balance. I can do the pose easily, but still have that fear of falling when confronted with slick surfaces.
Has anyone found a yoga practice has helped with balance? I truly believe that yoga has saved me from several falls..caught myself before falling.
In the beginning I had major problems with balancing on one foot and other balance exercises...it's still a struggle at times but new strength has come...
Worth a try...my practice is all about gentle stretching, core development and balance.
rosarugosa
2-6-14, 10:22pm
My balance training is riding the subway without holding on. I'm fairly good at it. For some reason, I have no fear of falling whatsoever, which is probably just foolhardy. We'll see if that changes over the next 10 years (I'm 55). I always wondered if it's because I'm short - not so far from the ground.
I am now in my 60s and 8 months ago started with a 4-5 day a week exercise program at a local gym. I do mostly classes. One is a low impact cardio and strength class and another is a class based on using weights (or none) and working the big muscle groups. I can now squat, walk without pain, do many more abdominal crunchs and have much more overall strength. I really started with nothing and extremely painful knees and that is now all gone.
I am converted to the need for exercise. My classes are adaptable for any age and we even have two in their 90s attending. They are great role models.
Husband and I have each lost 35 pounds and that also is an important part of keeping knees and muscles working. Carrying too much weight, like we did, is not a good thing.
I am very pleased & inspired to read about your progress! Thank you!
Miss Cellane
2-7-14, 7:55am
There's very bad arthritis on both sides of my family. Basically, I'm doomed. In my late 40s, I started to hurt when I did certain movements. Didn't realize this was the beginning of the arthritis, so didn't do anything about it. Except that unconsciously, I stopped making those movements--stopped bending over so much, stopped reaching for things, etc.
The result of that was that it got harder and harder to make those movements at all, and more painful. Then I slipped on some ice and injured both knees. Took over a year of physical therapy to stop the pain in the knees. But I realized that the therapy had beneficial effects on more than just my knees. My back was getting better, my hips, everything from the waist down was more pain-free and less stiff.
So I've continued the therapy exercises, even though technically, I don't have to do them any more, as my knees are considered "cured." But if I skip them for a week, I can feel a difference in how I move and how things feel.
I'm in my mid-50s. I do 10-15 minutes of stretching daily, plus a 20-30 minute walk five days a week, to keep up the strength in my legs. This year, I'm also starting to work on core strength three days a week, because I think that's something that will help as well. And I live in a second floor apartment, so stairs are a part of my daily life. Two floors down to the laundry room! I grumpily consider laundry day as part of my exercise program.
I think the more you move, the easier it is to move. The less you move, the harder it becomes.
iris lilies
2-8-14, 2:28pm
I had a funny and "good" fall a few years ago. I stayed late at work and didn't know that the floors were being waxed. I stepped out of the elevator and 2 custodians yelled "Nooooooooo!!!!" simultaneously as my feet slipped out from under me and I landed squarely on my bum. It was very fast and I couldn't have landed in a better place. I didn't even have a bruise.
We finally, after 23 years, have a railing around our staircase. For 23 years we went up and down steps with nothing to hang onto and no railing to keep someone from falling down the stairwell. That's one of the reasons why I stopped letting dogs upstairs; they are so ungainly I was constantly worried about them falling. I always used to joke to DH that will be how he is rid of me, a fall down the staircase.
All of that said, in the past couple of years I've gotten leery of falling. I suppose some inner sense is kicking in as I age. Just today I was looking at shoes in a catalog, but I will not order them without knowing what's on the bottom sole for skid control. I get downright angry when I see people in the winter on icy conditions make no accommodation for the ice. Tennis shoes are useless on ice. I have several stories of people including the young sliding about and some with serious consequences, but suffice to say people if you live in a snowbelt for god's sake get some footwear with traction.
Another act of thoughtlessness is when someone does fall, those around them immediately jump into action to pull them up. No, don't do that. Let the fallen person sit or lie down for a moment to see what's up.
Cathy, I also take little steps and I consciously hold my arms out to the side when I'm traversing down the street for balance, should I need that. I try to remember never to put my hands in my pockets. And oh this winter--I go outside in my stocking feet on snow and ice to take out garbage because my socks have better traction than my slip on shoes.
I do the Alaskan shuffle. Keep the feel close to the ground and knees unlocked. Plant each foot deliberately. When I have fallen, it is because I am not paying attention.
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