BOB RAMSEY
SLP SUN SAILOR (COLUMN)
http://sailor.mnsun.com/2012/06/28/have-mattress-will-demonstrate-safe-falls/
‘Have Mattress – Will Demonstrate Safe Falls’
By Bob Ramsey – Guest Columnist (June 28, 2012)
Most people, especially seniors, try to avoid falling. But 93-year-old Elliott Royce, of St. Louis Park, does it on purpose, and he does it five to 10 times every day.
He’s practicing how to fall safely. Based on national statistics on injuries due to accidental falls, he just may be on to something.
Medicare reports that the annual cost of treating injuries due to falls has now reached 20 billion dollars. Over 20 million seniors fall each year; and on average, every senior falls every three years.
The Centers for Disease Control also reports that unintentional falls are the number one reason adults over 45 have to go to hospital emergency rooms. Additionally, every year more than 30,000 Americans over 65 are seriously injured by falling. Many never fully recover.
Hip fractures are the most common injury resulting from falls. Over 24 percent of senior fall victims die within one year and 54 percent never return to their former level of activity and independence.
After living in a “senior home” for five years and observing first-hand the devastating effects of falls on older adults, Royce determined that he needed to learn how to protect himself. He wasn’t interested in any of the popular courses on how to prevent or avoid falls because statistics indicated that, sooner or later, he would fall, anyway. Royce wanted to find someone to teach him how to fall without injury.
His search led him to Hawaii where he finally found an instructor who taught him the basics of falling safely. “The technique is hardly a secret,” Royce explained. “Watch your grandchild fall. Or remember how you fell when you were younger. Or watch how soccer players take a fall. They bend their knees; they twist their bodies, and they roll. They don’t try to ‘prevent’ the fall.’”
The secret, according to Royce, is to practice and re-practice the bend-twist-roll technique until it becomes automatic and instinctive; there isn’t time to think about it when an actual fall occurs.
Since learning the technique, Royce has experienced three separate accidental falls and escaped with only minor scrapes and bruises. He attributes the lack of more serious injury to daily practice of the safe falling technique and to overcoming the fear of falling.
“The fear of falling is the biggest obstacle,” Royce said. “Your grandchild and the soccer player don’t get hurt because they’ve overcome their fear. They stay relaxed.”
Most senior citizens have already internalized the fear of falling and are afraid to try the safe falling techniques. That’s why, armed with a $25 air mattress from Wal-Mart, Royce is on a mission to teach as many young and middle-aged adults as possible how to fall safely before they are too old to master their fear of falling and to apply the technique.
Royce was a hit at a recent St. Louis Park Noon Rotary Club meeting where he demonstrated the safe falling technique and invited others to try it. “’Have Mattress – Will Demonstrate Safe Falling’ is my new mantra,” Royce said.
If you are interested in having Royce explain and demonstrate how to fall without injury to your group or organization, he may be contacted at 952-836-6643 or by e-mail at [email protected].
Bob Ramsey is a lifelong educator, freelance writer and advocate for vital aging. He resides in St. Louis Park, MN.
SLP SUN SAILOR (COLUMN)
http://sailor.mnsun.com/2012/06/28/have-mattress-will-demonstrate-safe-falls/
‘Have Mattress – Will Demonstrate Safe Falls’
By Bob Ramsey – Guest Columnist (June 28, 2012)
Most people, especially seniors, try to avoid falling. But 93-year-old Elliott Royce, of St. Louis Park, does it on purpose, and he does it five to 10 times every day.
He’s practicing how to fall safely. Based on national statistics on injuries due to accidental falls, he just may be on to something.
Medicare reports that the annual cost of treating injuries due to falls has now reached 20 billion dollars. Over 20 million seniors fall each year; and on average, every senior falls every three years.
The Centers for Disease Control also reports that unintentional falls are the number one reason adults over 45 have to go to hospital emergency rooms. Additionally, every year more than 30,000 Americans over 65 are seriously injured by falling. Many never fully recover.
Hip fractures are the most common injury resulting from falls. Over 24 percent of senior fall victims die within one year and 54 percent never return to their former level of activity and independence.
After living in a “senior home” for five years and observing first-hand the devastating effects of falls on older adults, Royce determined that he needed to learn how to protect himself. He wasn’t interested in any of the popular courses on how to prevent or avoid falls because statistics indicated that, sooner or later, he would fall, anyway. Royce wanted to find someone to teach him how to fall without injury.
His search led him to Hawaii where he finally found an instructor who taught him the basics of falling safely. “The technique is hardly a secret,” Royce explained. “Watch your grandchild fall. Or remember how you fell when you were younger. Or watch how soccer players take a fall. They bend their knees; they twist their bodies, and they roll. They don’t try to ‘prevent’ the fall.’”
The secret, according to Royce, is to practice and re-practice the bend-twist-roll technique until it becomes automatic and instinctive; there isn’t time to think about it when an actual fall occurs.
Since learning the technique, Royce has experienced three separate accidental falls and escaped with only minor scrapes and bruises. He attributes the lack of more serious injury to daily practice of the safe falling technique and to overcoming the fear of falling.
“The fear of falling is the biggest obstacle,” Royce said. “Your grandchild and the soccer player don’t get hurt because they’ve overcome their fear. They stay relaxed.”
Most senior citizens have already internalized the fear of falling and are afraid to try the safe falling techniques. That’s why, armed with a $25 air mattress from Wal-Mart, Royce is on a mission to teach as many young and middle-aged adults as possible how to fall safely before they are too old to master their fear of falling and to apply the technique.
Royce was a hit at a recent St. Louis Park Noon Rotary Club meeting where he demonstrated the safe falling technique and invited others to try it. “’Have Mattress – Will Demonstrate Safe Falling’ is my new mantra,” Royce said.
If you are interested in having Royce explain and demonstrate how to fall without injury to your group or organization, he may be contacted at 952-836-6643 or by e-mail at [email protected].
Bob Ramsey is a lifelong educator, freelance writer and advocate for vital aging. He resides in St. Louis Park, MN.