‘Age of Champions’ promotes strength and balance in later years
“Age of Champions” the inaugural Community Group Strength and Balance ‘Top Town’ games, a first of its kind event in Hawke’s Bay, will be taking place at Pettigrew Green Arena on Friday May 31.
This fun event organised by Enliven Older People Services, a service of Presbyterian Support East Coast, rounds up April ‘Falls’ month – a month long national awareness campaign from the Health Quality and Safety Commission Reducing Harm from Falls programme.
Kirstin Thompson, Community Services Coordinator for Enliven Older People Services says, “This is a very special event that celebrates the effort participants from our community group strength and balance programmes put in each week!”
Kirsten and Clare from Enliven.
This fun afternoon, touched with an edge of competitive spirit, will see teams of five working their way through a variety of strength, balance and cardio, challenges. As with all good sporting events, the afternoon will conclude with an awards ceremony, a cuppa and a yarn.
Kirstin says, “We have 49 accredited Community Group Strength and Balance course’s in Hawkes Bay with more in the pipeline. This quarter alone we have had 5200 attendances! This is very encouraging but there are still so many people who don’t know about the programmes and their benefits”.
Kirstin is hoping the ‘Age of Champions’ event will create further awareness around the importance of maintaining strength and balance in your later years.
“Falling should not be part of the ageing process. We want older adults to live independently for as long as possible. But we have to capture them while they are still active. We can give them the skills to remain independent, confident and safe”, she says.
Underlying this fun and merriment there is a serious issue.
Health Navigator New Zealand reports that approximately 1 in 3 people over the age of 65 will fall in any one year. Of these, 4 percent need hospitalisation and 1 percent suffer a hip fracture.
The likely hood of a fall resulting in an ACC claim becomes twice as likely over the age of 85. This age group are 17 times more likely to be admitted to hospital, have more hip fractures and stay in hospital three times longer compared to the 55 – 65 age group.
A hip fracture resulting in a three-week hospital stay costs on average $47,000. If there are complications that require discharge to a residential care facility, the cost leaps to $135,000.
“It’s not just the financial burden falls generate, it’s the loss of independence and confidence that really impacts people. It can be devastating. As we get older our social circle naturally reduces, we no longer have contact with people through work, family members and friends pass away, if we lose our ability to be active this circle reduces further. That can lead to isolation,” Kirsten says.
The fear of falling can limit people in the amount of activity they do. This cautionary approach can actually make people more susceptible to falls.
Kirsten says, “We call it the ‘fall cycle’. People who have had a fall develop a fear of falling again, or people who feel vulnerable to falling develop this fear. The problem is they start to move less which decreases their strength. This adversely affects their balance, which increases the risk of falling!”
As the proportion of our population over 65 grows, the occurrence of falls will increase. In 2003 Otago University was asked to develop an exercise program that would reduce the risk of falls in older adults.
Professor John Campbell led a research team that developed the highly successful Otago Exercise Programme (OEP). It was found an effective falls prevention programme must target two or more components of strength, flexibility, balance or endurance. The OEP encompasses all these things.
Exercise classes that include elements of the OEP, focusing on strength and balance can reduce the number of falls and injuries resulting from falls, by between 30 to 50 percent.
“A class that delivers an accredited Strength and Balance programme is one that meets criteria held in the OEP. A class that has been approved ensures participants the class is both safe and effective,” Kirsten says.
Kirsten urges those who deliver exercise classes for older adults in the community to become accredited.
“There are huge benefits for the instructors of these classes, as well as the community. The instructors receive free training to deliver approved Community Group Strength and Balance classes, as well as becoming part of a national network with access to like-minded individuals and professionals in the area of falls prevention.”
Kirsten continues, “The older people in the community will benefit from having effective classes, which will increase their strength and balance that will reduce their risk of falls and related injuries. It’s a win-win!”
The physical benefits of regularly attending exercise classes are well documented, but it’s the subtle ripples of support and friendship that complete the circle.
“For some, the classes are the only reason for getting out. The psychological benefits of socialising are just as important. Social isolation is as harmful as smoking 15 cigarettes a day and can result in early admission to residential care or premature death. It’s so good to see people smiling, laughing and enjoying themselves. This is a big reason why we want to see these classes grow,” Kirsten says.
Despite the popularity of the classes there is still a great number of people who have not been reached. Kirsten feels we need a community wide approach that will increase awareness around falls and falls prevention.
She says, “We all need to be on the lookout for older family and friends who not moving confidently. It’s much better we equip people with skills and knowledge before the event of a fall, rather than being the ambulance at the bottom of the cliff!”
A fall later on in life can be devastating. We are all living longer therefore we all need to learn how to live stronger for longer.
For more information on falls prevention and accredited classes in your area go to www.livestronger.org.nz, phone 0800 4Enliven or 06 281 2534, or email enliven@psec.org.nz.
