Looks like Dr. Purchase had the same idea as I did on a new blog. We wrote this around the same time without discussing it, so I guess we are starting to mind meld. I am very thankful during this Thanksgiving season that he is a caring, personable and excellent surgeon and he is really enhancing the practice.
As the holiday season is approaching, I thought I would talk about injury prevention. The other day, I did a face plant in my driveway as I was trying to get a large cardboard box broken up for my recycle bin. It was amazing how fast that one second I am jumping up and down on a box and the next I was falling face down on the driveway after slipping. Fortunately, all I got out of it was some very sore muscles and few bruises. (I am still not sure about my rotator cuff, though.)
It did remind me, that as we go in to this holiday season, while we are trying to multitask- get that extra chore done, to get those lights up, pick up the kids, make that meeting, get the shopping done, how just an extra second of time may prevent a fall or serious injury.
Such a simple thought. Just take a few seconds, take a deep breathe, focus and center on the task at hand, and not jump to 4 other tasks you have to get to before the current one is done. Even though you are a good driver, and think that “Oh I can send just this one text message while I sit at this light,” no one will see you, and before you know it, you rear end the car in front of you. Or putting up the lights, reaching for that top light on the top of the ladder, or up on the roof, and in a nanosecond, down the ladder goes, and you could fracture your shoulder, hip or worse. Didn’t want to wait for someone to help. So slowing down just a bit and take the extra time can have huge benefits. Check out this link. http://orthoinfo.aaos.org/topic.cfm?topic=A00367.
In regards to injury prevention, there are a few simple exercises one can do to reduce the risk of falls. And the loss of balance is the number one cause of falls. As a matter of fact, falls and the injuries that occur have a huge physical, emotional and financial impact on the quality of life, not only in all people, but more importantly, in those over age 65. One of the biggest risk factors for death in women over 65 is a fall. The consequences of a hip fracture is reduced mobility, with complications of reduced mobility such as pneumonia. For some excellent tips, check out the following link for some actual exercises. http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/balance-exercises/SM00049
Then enjoy the holidays! Take that extra time, take a deep breath if you are feeling rushed or stressed. We all think it can’t happen to me, but as my face headed toward the pavement, it can!
-Lesley J. Anderson, MD