Exercise programs help prevent falls
The Costa Mesa Senior Center is committed to enhancing the quality of
life by developing and implementing programs that support health and
wellness. In August 2003, the center established a fall-prevention
program to offer a comprehensive, group-structured approach that
helps seniors avoid injurious falls. The program began with 12
participants and now serves more than 100 seniors each week.
California has the largest senior population of any state in the
nation, with more than 3.5 million Californians 65 and older. This
segment is expected to grow at more than double the rate of the total
population. More than 11%, or 12,234, of Costa Mesa’s residents are
older than 60, and more than 9,200 of these are over 65. Advancing
age and declining physical activity make this age group especially
vulnerable to falling.
The risk of debilitating injuries from falls increases
dramatically with age. On average more than 1 million older
Californians fall each year, and more than 200,000 falls result in
injury. Injurious falls are very serious, causing fracture, head
injury or lacerations. Many who sustain hip fractures do not recover
their previous level of function.
The goal of the fall-prevention program is to improve
participants’ agility, gait, coordination, balance, strength,
flexibility and aerobic endurance, thereby increasing their ability
to successfully perform activities of daily living and to reduce
their risk of falling. This is accomplished through a comprehensive
series of classes for adults over 50.
The classes are designed to reduce stiffness, improve mobility and
enhance functional capacity. Class activities also reduce the anxiety
experienced as a result of falling. Experiencing a fall undermines
seniors’ confidence in their ability to ambulate safely and leads to
self-imposed restrictions resulting in further decline, isolation and
depression.
Clearly, preventive strategies that reduce the risks of falling
are the most effective means of helping seniors maintain their health
and independence.
Classes are offered year-round in quarterly sessions:
* Balance and mobility classes have been very successful in
reducing the number of falls and injuries from falls. Participants
completing the program are able to move more quickly from one
location to another, indicating improved walking efficiency. Slow
walking speed is associated with a higher risk for falls; this
improvement in mobility is very important. A number of participants
report that they are not using their cane or walker as often or have
stopped using it all together.
* Lite aerobics or low-impact aerobics, as defined by Georgia
State University department of health and kinesiology, consists of
aerobic movements involving large muscle groups used in continuous
rhythmic activity in which at least one foot remains on the ground at
all times. This type of aerobic exercise evolved to decrease the
lower-leg injuries associated with high-impact classes.
* Simply Lite is set to popular music with gentle, slow rhythmic
movements designed to gradually warm up the body. The intensity of
these movements progressively increases to elevate and maintain the
participants’ heart rates in their target training area.
* Functional Fitness is designed to maintain the ability to
successfully perform activities of daily living and to improve
functional capacity in strength, flexibility and posture.
* People with Arthritis Can Exercise is designed to bring more
movement to people with arthritis and is also beneficial for anyone
interested in relief from stiffness and improving mobility. The class
focuses on restoring or maintaining joint range of motion and muscle
strength in addition to improving posture and endurance.
Instructors for the classes hold master’s degrees in gerontology
or kinesiology.
We are fortunate this year to be funded in part by grants from the
Archstone Foundation, a private, nonprofit foundation whose mission
is to prepare society for the growing needs of an aging society, and
the California Wellness Foundation.
When one gets older we refer to the years as the golden years. For
some it is so, but others sometimes need help. If you know of anyone
who is in need of this program, please feel free to call us at (949)
645-2356, ext. 16.
OCTOBER ACTIVITIES AT THE CENTER
* Friday from 4 to 7 p.m.: Join us when we will host a down-home
barbecue, line dancing and music by the Doo Wah Riders Band. Come
decked out in your Western attire and be ready to kick up your heels.
The cost is $5 for members and $12 for nonmembers. For further
information, call the center at (949) 645-2356. Reservations are a
must.
* Sat., Oct. 29, we will hold an outdoor sale. From 8 a.m. to 1
p.m. we invite you, your family and friends to come along to the
center’s parking lot for some bargain-hunting fun. A pancake
breakfast will be served by the Costa Mesa Newport Harbor Lions Club
for $5. If you are interested in selling your goods, contact Darryl
Kim at (949) 645-2356, ext. 15, to reserve a table.
* AVIVA GOELMAN is the executive director of the Costa Mesa Senior
Center and will write occasional columns about the center, its
members and senior issues.
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