Several months ago, my 87-year-old uncle fell at the bottom of the stairs that lead from his upstairs bedroom to the living room. Although he had no significant injury, he was too weak to get up. Fortunately, he was able to get help after some time by crawling to a nearby phone and dialing 911.
I urged him to get a medical-alert system so that he would be certain of getting help if he ever fell again. To my surprise, he took my advice and ordered such a system, even though, up til now, he has always been reluctant to admit that he needs any outside assistance.
No more than a month after getting this gadget, he called to tell me that he had lost his balance and fallen, again with no injury, but this time in his basement. Once more, he had been unable to get up and might have remained there on the cold, hard floor for many days, since he has few visitors. The alert system, however, allowed him to contact 911 and get rapid help.
In addition to discomfort, hunger, and thirst, lying on a floor (or even in bed, for that matter) without help for a long period can cause serious medical problems, such as dehydration, as well as all the difficulties that can arise when one can't get to needed medications like insulin.
A case in point: I recently read about an elderly woman who damaged her leg muscles so severely from lying in one position for several days after a fall that she developed rhabdomyolysis (massive release of the muscle protein myoglobin), which caused kidney failure and death.
My uncle has tried unsuccessfully to gain leg strength by exercising. People like him can still help themselves, however, by at least partly overcoming the loss of balance so common in older people. I suggest the following exercise:
- Begin by standing up straight behind a tall chair or facing a countertop.
- Lightly hold onto the chair or countertop with your fingertips. (You're going to keep holding on gently throughout this exercise.)
- Raise 1 leg about 1 foot off the ground, still holding onto your support lightly.
- Maintain your balance while standing on 1 leg.
- Hold for a count of 10 seconds.
- Repeat with the other leg.
- Perform 5 times with each leg.
As your balance improves over time, carry out the same exercise, first without holding on to the nearby chair, and finally without holding on and with both eyes closed.
Keep in mind that not everyone who needs a medical-alert system is elderly. Weakened people of any age might benefit from such a system, and also from the balance exercises detailed above.
