Falling

Tai Chi

Help me, I think I'm falling
- Joni Mitchell, lyrics from "Help Me"

Ask an average person, "What is the most likely dangerous thing that may happen to you?" You may get answers like hit by lightning, hit by a car, shot by a gun, etc. What you are not likely to hear is "falling."

The Dept. of Health for New York State writes,

In NYS fall-related injuries are the leading cause of injury hospitalizations among children ages 0-14 and adults 25 years and older. Falls are the leading cause of unintentional injury deaths for those 45 years and older. Falls can result in serious injuries such as traumatic brain injuries (TBI) or fractures. There is also a heavy financial burden to fall-related injuries with a yearly cost of $1.3 billion in New York State for hospitalizations alone.

My father's aunt had an amazing memory and was a great story teller well into her 90's. But one night she fell in her assisted living apartment and was never the same again mentally. The Dept of Health is spot on with, "Fall-related injuries in older adults often lead to hospitalizations beginning the downward spiral that can result in long-term disability or death." In a fall the brain can be bruised and damaged when it hits the skull with a smack. Nearly twenty years ago my brother-in-law's job was to hit lab rats on the head and then measure the resulting brain damage using a MRI. The goal was to discover how well brain damage could be seen in an MRI because you really don't want to open up the skull to find out the status of the brain after an injury.

Fortunately there are measures you can take to make falls less likely.

For Children:

• Use child safety gates at the top and bottom of stairs
• Never leave an infant unattended on a table, bed or other elevated surface
• Use safety straps to secure your child in strollers, shopping carts and infant carriers
• Place your child in a stationary play-station rather than a mobile walker
• Playground surfaces should consist of shredded rubber, fiber mulch, or fine sand and extend 12 inches deep and 6 feet around equipment to reduce the severity of falls.

For Adults:

• Install handrails on stairways and remove loose rugs or other clutter
• Use ample lighting throughout the home. Install illuminated light switches at the top and bottom of stairs, and night lights in the bathrooms.
• Use a step-stool and grab bar to reach objects on high shelves. Don't stand on stairs, buckets, or other objects to reach something!
• Use non-slip bath mats in the shower and tub
• Wear shoes with non-slip soles
• Talk to your health care provider about gait, balance, and strength training.

Bottom Line

The last item in the list is interesting. I found that Tai Chi greatly improved my sense of balance and has saved me from some slip and falls. Perhaps Yoga can do the same to make you more in tune with your body and strengthen it for balance. Try standing on one foot for 30 seconds. (But be careful how and where you do this - you will fall eventually.) Learn how to fall safely. Do squats to strengthen the legs and improve balance as your body changes position.

Carpal Tunnel

He's coming right onto the boat! Mr. Jaws [the shark], why are you grabbing my hand?
"Wouldn't you give your hand to a friend?"
– lyrics to “Mr Jaws” by Dickie Goodman

As a computer programmer, blogger, and computer game player I spend a lot of time at a keyboard. I have only once, knock on wood, experienced the pains of carpal tunnel syndrome. The carpal tunnel is a passage where the median nerve and flexor tendons pass through the wrist bones. If the tendons swell from overuse or the nerve becomes inflamed, the nerve is pinched inside the tunnel causing pain.

There are many recommended exercises to help prevent hand pain from repetitive typing or writing.

About.com recommends:
1) Extend both arms straight out in front of you
2) Extend your wrists and fingers back (as if directing traffic to stop)
3) Hold this position for 5 seconds
4) Now straighten your wrists and relax your fingers
5) With your arms still straight out in front of you keep your wrists straight, make a fist, and squeeze it tightly
6) Hold this position for 5 seconds
7) Keep your fists clenched and bend your wrists down
8) Hold this position for 5 seconds
9) Straighten both wrists and relax your fingers again
10) Repeat above ten more times

At eHow.com, physical therapist, Monica Paradise, demonstrates exercises and stretching in several online video clips.

Another eHow site describes stretching ideas for wrists and fingers. It also claims that your forearm muscles determine your wrist strength. Build up the forearms by squeezing a rubber ball and doing wrist curls with a light weight. Don’t over do the exercises!

A percussionist instructor demonstrates three clever wrist stretches.

eFuse.com has recommendations for Desktop Yoga, with many exercises for bad computer posture and repetitive stress.

Bottom Line

Don’t take your hands for granted. Work some type of wrist stretching into your daily routine.

If you experience pain, see a doctor. I can not vouch for the effectiveness of the exercises listed above.