Jack and Jill

Jack and Jill went up a hill

To fetch a pail of water.

Jack fell down and broke his crown

And Jill came tumbling after.

–Old English Verses and Children’s Games

Is it just me? Or was falling down a whole lot more fun at age five?

We grabbed the grubby hands of the kids standing next to us and lined up or raced in a circle, then laughed as we threw ourselves down in a heap on the ground.

Falling in love, falling behind, falling ill. Falling  seems to be on a downward trajectory as we get older.

Now I’m not quite to the point of doddering, but I have to say that falling down is about the worst thing I can imagine happening to me or to anyone. Falling down, so simple, so quick, but fraught with perils for the elderly or in fact any adult.

Oh, How the Mighty Have Fallen

Falling down is such a great leveler. Whether in public or in private, a collapse is so much more than inconvenient, it often comes with painful and shameful consequences…if you let it.

Last night was the final competition of my favorite and only un-reality show, Dancing With the Stars. The sequins and streamers were flying as the glittering Mirror Ball Trophy was awarded to football wide receiver, Hines Ward, a professional who’s used to taking pratfalls with a pigskin every Sunday.

My girl, Kirstie Alley, came in a close second, but not without enough falling down to rival Humpty Dumpty. Watch here as she lands on her derriere before millions of viewers. She was not the only dancer to take her lumps and bumps, but we winced more as her baby boomer bones took a beating. Read more about What All Boomers Can Learn From Kirstie Alley here. She picked herself up, brushed herself off and battled on as most of us do.

Trends Are Up for Falling Down

“One out of every three Americans 65 years and older falls at least once a year, with 10 percent fracturing a bone, dislocating a joint or incurring some other serious injury,” says Dr. Mary Tinetti, Chief of Geriatrics at the Yale University School of Medicine.

According to government statistics, “Up to 32 percent of  individuals over the age of 65 and living at home fall each year, and females fall more frequently than males in this age group.Unfortunately, fall-related death rates in the United States increased between 1999 and 2004, from 29 to 41 per 100,000 population.”

It’s a major public health issue for baby boomers and their parents. So maybe my preoccupation with remaining upright is justified. I’m not flat out thinking about it all of the time, but there are moments when I feel on the brink of toppling even when I’m not tippling. It made me wonder, why?

Fall Phobia is All About Focus

Yes, there is such a thing as Fall Phobia…an intense fear of falling. (Not to be confused with Phallophobia, which is a fright of something in the night.)

Fall Phobia happens when your anxieties reach new heights and falling is never out of your thoughts. In which case, you’d best get to the bottom of things with an expert counselor.

Sports coaches, dieting gurus and cognitive therapists alike agree that you get what you focus on. And falling down is no different. Overwhelming fear of falling develops when what you do with your mind (cognitive process) and how you hold and move you body (physiology) combines to turn everyday life into a sort of diving platform.

In other words, if you’re getting through your day humming “London Bridge is Falling Down’’ while worriedly peering at your toes, then there you go.

Focus instead on Big Ben with it’s hourly gong of all’s well, …a positive image of staying stable, upright and calm, …and you’re more likely to avoid being the fall guy.

Six More Things You Can Do to Prevent Frightening Falls

I’m a tall person with blood pressure that’s bargain basement low. Most nurses and phlebotomists tap their instruments and measure me a second time to see if I’m still among the living. I also have low blood sugar, which leads to feeling faint at the first inkling of a missed mealtime.

I regularly feel as lightheaded and off balance as the Leaning Tower of Pisa some days. So, I watch out for sudden movements…a bend, reach or rise that can dump me on my duff in the blink of an eye. I can only hope that the sandwich I keep handy will cushion my fall!

But seriously, there are a number of other ways you can prevent painful falls for yourself and loved ones.

1.     Monitor medications – All pills can all cause dizziness, but especially those for diabetes, blood pressure, stomach acid or allergies. Combining prescriptions for more than one diagnosis can also trip you up. Ask your doctor for the lowest effective doses or change to medicines without known side effects. And be very careful when mixing meds with alcohol…it can become a toxic cocktail. They call it falling down drunk for a reason.

2.     Hydrate with H2O — Just plain old water can prevent falls by refreshing your muscles and maintaining steady blood pressure. Unfortunately the coffee, teas, and colas we sip all day suck the moisture out of us like a mosquito on a mission. So drink up the H2O to stay upright.

3.     Maintain strength and balance — A recent USA Today article says that these days we all sit down too much, therefore burn fewer calories, carry more weight and, over time, are at higher risk for falling down.

Give yourself what doctors and social workers call a “Quick Start” test to see if you can get up from a chair without using hands and arms. If you wobble your way upward, some simple exercises to stretch and strengthen can improve steadiness at any age.

The key is to retain core strength through weight bearing exercise. Gentle yoga, Tai Chi, Qigong and other movement and balance programs can curb your tendency to descend without warning.

4.     Explore underlying health issues — Changes in eyesight, body mass and bone density, even heart and bladder function can cause falling down. Check out symptoms before there’s a crisis that sweeps you off your feet.

5.     Forego fancy footwear — “Cute shoes” may be a phrase we all long to hear, but women teetering with pointy toes or men wearing slick leather soles is a recipe for a fall from grace. By all means parade in your Jimmy Choo’s or Prada loafers for an hour or two, but ditch them for a wide toe box and arch support long before they cause a collapse.

6.     Eyeball your environment — Plan your paces with patience when you’re in unfamiliar places and say no to mindlessly multi-tasking while moving. For example, checking your Blackberry for messages and searching your bag for car keys while walking through a busy parking lot.  At home, watch for rugs that trip and surfaces that slip to reduce the risk of a nasty nosedive.

Feel For That Fallen Woman

I recently spent a long weekend in Charleston, South Carolina to celebrate our son’s college graduation. I was a nervous wreck from Day One as I waited for what I thought was an inevitable fall by someone around me.  I was particularly concerned for my ninety plus year old father who has had two head-banging falls in the past six months. I was prepared to catch someone at any minute.

With grandparents in tow amid a sea of tourists, we made our uncertain way down streets paved with the stone ballast of sailing ships. I was hyper-vigilant about creaking uneven staircases, tippy plastic chairs placed among tree roots for the commencement ceremony, and even the gently sloping floor of the cement parking structure. I eyed daredevil skateboarders darting through traffic and peered around corners of blind alleys for silent cyclists.

It was bound to happen.  And it did, on the last day, after my family had departed and I lingered for some “me time” in the bustling stalls of the Charleston City Market.

I watched as a local woman about my age, crashed to the ground in the middle of an intersection. Her platform mules let her down as she dodged across uneven pavement with shopping bags and a coffee in hand.  She was badly shaken, bloodied and bruised in the bright light of a summer’s day. I helped her up and offered what comfort I could…a wet wipe for her grazed knee, a shoulder to lean on as she made her way to a street-side bench, and a few moments pause until she felt ready to be on her way.

Do you offer a little compassion when someone goes down for the count? Or do you spare their feelings by not noticing?

Ring around the rosy

A pocket full of posies

Ashes, ashes

We all fall down.

Tags: baby boomer, body, Dancing Wth The Stars, falling down, fears, hands, Kirstie Alley, Maksim Chmerkovskiy, pain