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| By Julie Pfitzinger
Dean Hansen knows all too well what it’s like to hit the ground unexpectedly. “I’ve fallen a couple of times and it’s a scary thing,” said the 85-year-old senior housing resident from St. Therese of New Hope. “That floor is pretty hard.”
Physical therapist Mark Stanfield conducts a balance assessment with a St. Therese of New Hope tenant. Photo courtesy of St. Therese of New Hope In March, while meeting with a physical therapist at the St. Therese rehabilitation center for help with a sore shoulder, Hansen learned about the brand new Balance Center that was opening on site and after receiving authorization from his doctor to participate in the program, Hansen began attending the center twice a week.
“I’ve worked a lot on strengthening my ankles since that really helps you keep your balance,” he explained. “Ever since I started going, I’ve noticed much improvement.”
Positive results like those experienced by Hansen are exactly what the staff at the Balance Center is hoping to achieve with all their clients. “The fear of falling is a major concern for seniors,” said Amy Taylor-Greengard, director of rehabilitation and fitness at St. Therese.
Seniors afraid of falling
According to the results of a survey that the rehab center staff gave to senior housing residents, more than 20 percent admitted being afraid of falling when they get in and out of a chair and 35 percent were fearful while doing light housework. The percentage of Americans over the age of 65 who will fall at some point — often more than once — is more than 50 percent.
“When seniors have this fear, it can lead to inactivity, which ultimately affects their strength and their quality of life,” said Taylor-Greengard.
While seniors do tend to experience changes in joint flexibility and slower physical responses, steps can be taken that may prevent the likelihood of falls. “We work with them to promote optimal strength, movement and flexibility, which can have a positive impact on their balance,” she said.
According to Taylor-Greengard, all incoming clients at the Balance Cen-ter are evaluated by traditional phy-sical therapy assessment methods, strength and flexibility testing, and personal interviews about ways they believe their balance is challenged.
You must lose to improve.
Another key feature of the Center is the NeuroCom EquiTest, a state of the art computerized balance and mobility assessment that is comparable to the one used to measure the equilibrium of NASA astronauts pre- and post-flight.
“The EquiTest can assess what exactly is impairing the client’s balance,” said Taylor- Greengard, “whe-ther it is their vision, the way their feet and ankles are responding to surfaces or the inner ear, which determines the body’s orientation to space.”
Once the most impaired system is identified, the patient is then put into challenging conditions under full supervision. “To improve your balance, you have to lose your balance,” explained Taylor-Greengard.
Hansen said that is exactly what he has experienced in his workouts at the Balance Center. “It’s really interesting because Mark, the physical therapist, helps me with exercises like moving my leg to the right and left, backward and forward. You really start thinking of it as a challenge — I say to myself that I know I can move a little farther,” Hansen said, adding that Mark always holds a belt around him “so he can catch me if he has to.”
In the short time since the Balance Center has been opened, Taylor-Greengard said they have seen “dramatic results” in several clients, many of whom are in their mid to late 80s. Most, like Hansen, attend twice a week for four to six weeks or longer.
After the client has received a referral from a physician for the program, insurance covers the cost.
At this point, Balance Center clients are from the St. Therese senior housing residence, but Taylor-Green-gard said the staff’s vision is “to open it up to the broader community later this year.” With a fear of falling being prevalent for so many seniors, opportunities for improvement through the Balance Center can make a real difference. “Everyone wants to stay as independent as they can for as long as they can,” said Taylor-Greengard.
Daniel Gannon, president and CEO of Catholic Senior Services, a pro-gram of the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis that serves as a re-source center for seniors and their families, is impressed with the initial results achieved at the Balance Center.
“This is really in line with the critical mission of CSS and that is to promote care of both body and soul for our seniors,” Gannon said. “A program like the one offered at the Balance Center can increase quality of life which is so important.”
St. Therese of New Hope is one of four CSS affiliates, along with Catholic Eldercare of Minneapolis, Franciscan Health Community of St. Paul and St. Therese Southwest in Hopkins. |
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“I shall go the way of the open sea, To the lands I knew before you came, And the cool ocean breezes shall blow from me The memory of your name.”
- Laurence Hope
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