LIHU‘E — Twenty-one percent of Kaua‘i’s population is 60 years and older. That age group faces a rising challenge as the years pass: Staying on their feet. Rachelle Bachran wants to help them do just that through a program called,
LIHU‘E — Twenty-one percent of Kaua‘i’s population is 60 years and older. That age group faces a rising challenge as the years pass: Staying on their feet.
Rachelle Bachran wants to help them do just that through a program called, “Move with Balance.”
“People spend a lot of money and time in hospitals and emergency rooms because of falls,” said the public health educator for the state’s Department of Health, Kaua‘i District Office. “But falls can be prevented.”
Bachran led a class of elderly clients from the Adult Day Health Center on Kress Street through a series of exercises that will help them prevent falls by maintaining better balance.
Falls are the leading cause of both fatal and nonfatal injuries for people aged 65 years and older, the NCOA website states.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, there were 2.3 million nonfatal fall injuries in 2010 among older adults who were treated in emergency departments, and more than 662,000 of these patients were hospitalized.
The direct medical costs of falls, in 2010, adjusted for inflation, was $30 billion.
During a trip to Maui last year, Bachran met Karen Peterson, founder of Moving With Balance. After observing how easy it is to prevent falls, she returned to Kaua‘i eager to help keep seniors strong and steady.
“September is National Falls Prevention Month, and I would love to see a proclamation bring awareness to falls prevention,” Bachran said.
Many people who fall, even if not injured, develop a fear of falling, in some instances, the fear causing them to limit their activities which leads to reduced mobility and loss of physical fitness, the CDC website states. This increases their actual risk of falling.
Bachran said balance, or loss of balance, is one of the leading causes of falling. The CDC suggests one of the ways adults can prevent falls is to exercise regularly, focusing on increasing leg strength and improving balance.
Moving With Balance helps people’s left side of the brain connect with the right side of the brain for better balance, Bachran said.
“A lot of the exercises can be performed anywhere,” Bachran said. “The key is to have fun, laugh with each other. The more we move, the healthier we’ll be.”
Bachran is hopeful she can expose more people, especially those 60 years and older, to the Move With Balance program which allows the brain to connect.
Visit www.movewithbalance.org, or call Bachran at 241-3564 for more information.
• Dennis Fujimoto, photographer and staff writer, can be reached at 245-0453 or dfujimoto@ thegardenisland.com.
