The Fall & Balance Clinic

By: Dr. Beth Templin

When asked what their biggest fear is about getting older, most people confess it’s the fear of falling. A fear of getting hurt and not being able to maintain their current lifestyle or living situation. Would you agree?

The bad news: 1 out of 4 adults over 65 years old fall each year and 1 out of 2 adults over 80 years old fall each year. Once you've had your first fall, your chance of having another fall doubles.  
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The good news: Even though falls are more common as you age, they are not a “normal” part of aging. This means there is something you can do to reduce your risk.

That’s why I am very excited to announce the opening of the Fall & Balance Clinic at HouseFit. We offer a variety of services including: Physical Therapy, Floor & Fall Bootcamps and advanced balance training on our ActiveStep Balance Trainer. 

The entire focus of the clinic is to prevent falls & improve balance recovery. Our goal is to educate and motivate older adults to be proactive and participate in high level balance training before they have a fall. Before they have a serious injury and end up losing their independence.

The ActiveStep
The centerpiece of our Fall & Balance Clinic is our ActiveStep Balance Trainer. It uses an advanced balance technique based on the principal of perturbation training, or intentionally pushing someone off balance. 

Participants are secured in a safety harness, giving them the opportunity to practice catching their balance in a safe place.  

Participants stand or walk on the treadmill and the treadmill belt rapidly changes speed and direction to simulate tripping or slipping.

Why does it work?
Recovering your balance is a reflex. Your body automatically reacts to catch itself. As we age, our reflexes don't work as well as they used to. 
The ActiveStep allows users to practice catching their balance multiple times in a single session. With practice, this reflex becomes stronger and faster resulting in improved balance.

Who is it right for? 
The ActiveStep is perfect for anyone who has had a fall or who wants to prevent a fall!