Preventing Falls as You Age
As we age, our risk of falls increases. This can be especially true for women as they lose muscle mass, bone density, and strength due to menopause. In this article, we’ll go over some tips on how to prevent falls even with this natural decline.
- Talk to your doctor. Your doctor can help you determine your risk of falling and best ways on how to prevent it. Be open and honest with your doctor about what medications you’re taking (they can have side effects or interactions that increase your fall risk), any previous falls you’ve had and where they happened, and your health conditions.
- Keep yourself active. Even though losing muscle mass and strength is a side effect of menopause, you can combat this by staying active and actively working on building strength. Balance, coordination, and flexibility are also key skills that can lower your risk of falls. Of course, it’s a good idea to talk to your doctor about any new workout regime before you start it.
- Wear sensible shoes. We know it can be tempting to wear the fashion forward heels or even the cute flats with slick soles, but they can both increase your risk of falling. Wearing shoes that fit properly and are sturdy and flat with nonskid soles will lower your risk of falling, and it may also help with joint pain.
- Remove home hazards. Take a look around your home and see if you can spot any home hazards. Things like cords sticking out, furniture in the walking path, loose rugs, loose floorboards or carpeting, a bathtub or shower without a nonslip mat, or any type of clutter. All of these things can increase your risk of falling, so removing them or fixing them is a great idea.
- Add light. The dark can also be a major fall risk, especially with some of the hazards listed above. Adding light in your bedroom, bathroom, hallways, and outdoors can help lower your risk of falls when they are properly used. It’s also important to make lights easy to access, meaning the switch is easy to get to with a clear walking path or something that turns on immediately when it’s dark, such as a night light. Storing flashlights in several easy to reach places is also a good idea in case of power outages.
- Use assistive devices. We know you may not be ready for or need a cane, but other assistive devices like handrails on stairways, raised toilet seat or one with armrests, grab bars for your shower area, or even a shower seat can all be really helpful as we age and can help to lower your risk of falls.
https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/healthy-aging/in-depth/fall-prevention/art-20047358
Keeping Kids Safe During Fall Sports
As fall sports kick into full swing, the chances of children getting sports related injuries goes up. Sports can be a great way for your child to stay active and make friends, but as the fall season starts, it’s important to take steps to ensure their safety too.
Get a checkup. The fall sports season should start with a physical exam performed by your child’s health provider. This helps ensure that they are in good health and ready to take on the new sport or sports season.
Use the right gear. Whether it’s a contact sport or not, it’s important to make sure your child has the right safety gear for the sport they’re playing. These might include helmets, wrist guards, knee pads, mouth guards, elbow pads, or shin guards. Don’t skimp on any of the recommended equipment and make sure it fits properly. Check that your child has put on the equipment correctly and make sure there are no missing buckles or worn-down padding.
Don’t overdo it. We all want the best for our child, and as sports parents, it can tempting to think lots of practice in one area can help them be the best. However, with younger children, specializing in sports too early can lead to stress, burnout, and overuse injuries. Let your child take a break from a sport and try other activities, rather than pushing them towards one specific sport before the age of 15.
Keep them cool. It might be almost fall, but we know it doesn’t really cool down until it’s almost winter here in South Georgia. That means it’s still as important as ever to keep your child cool during sports practices or games. You can do this by making sure they are drinking water often, have access to a cooler spot if they feel overheated (indoors, kiddie pool, etc.), and wear a hat and light, breathable clothing.
https://www.strong4life.com/en/being-active/sports/sports-safety-tips-to-help-keep-kids-in-the-game
Healthy Apple Crisp
- Ingredients:
-
- 1/3 cup whole wheat pastry flour (can substitute with regular flour, gluten free oat flour, or almond flour)
- ½ cup old fashioned rolled oats
- 1/3 cup dark brown sugar
- ½ cup raw chopped pecans
- ¼ teaspoon cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ¼ cup cold butter (can substitute with coconut oil or vegan butter), cut into small cubes
- 5-6 medium honeycrisp or Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored, and very thinly sliced
- 1/3 cup pure maple syrup
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- Pinch of nutmeg
- 1 tablespoon bourbon (or pure vanilla extract)
- Directions:
-
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Generously grease an 8×8 pan with nonstick cooking spray and set aside.
- For the topping, combine flour, oats, brown sugar, cinnamon, salt, and pecans in a large bowl until well-combined. Add in the pieces of butter and use your hands to squeeze and combine until the mixture is crumbly and looks like wet sand.
- Once finished, place your topping in the fridge.
- For the filling, put the apples, maple syrup, cinnamon, nutmeg, and bourbon (or vanilla) in a large bowl and toss to combine. Allow to sit for 5-10 minutes.
- Toss the apple mixture with 1/3 cup of the topping. Place this mixture in your prepared pan and then sprinkle evenly with the remaining topping.
- Bake the crisp on baking sheet (just in case the filling overflows) for 45-55 minutes, or until the topping is golden brown and the filling is bubbling. Remove from the oven and cool for 10 minutes on a wire rack. Serve warm with your favorite vanilla ice cream.
