OPINION: Balance is key for seniors to lead a healthy life and prevent a fall

As someone who works as a tai chi instructor at Nambé Pueblo, a lot of my days are spent making sure people find balance in their lives. While part of this is spiritual — since I hope the people I work with can find more inner harmony through our practice together — there’s a more literal component to this, as well.

Many of the people I instruct are elders, and making sure they’re working on their physical balance is incredibly important as they continue aging and face an increased risk of falls.

It can be hard for people to acknowledge this is a skill they need to work on as part of healthy aging, but it should be top of mind for our elders. More than one 1 of 4 Americans age 65-plus falls each year, and falls are the leading cause of fatal and nonfatal injuries for older Americans.

This is particularly a problem in Indigenous communities that face their own unique barriers around health and education. Indigenous older adults have the highest rates of falls among all races/ethnicities in the U.S. and more than 90% of them have at least one chronic condition that increases their risk of falling. Additionally, many high-quality health care services and programs developed for the general U.S. population often don’t effectively engage the Indigenous community, which creates distrust and limits access.

I’ve seen this firsthand. My father was a firefighter for 33 years, worked in the forestry department, and generally was always on the go. For a long time, he was a picture of health and vitality. Not too long ago, though, he had a major health scare, and we had to come to terms with the fact that, while we never did and never will want him to stop being himself, adjustments needed to be made in how he navigated the world.

We started by working on his mobility, helping him regain his ability to walk and, of course, focusing on his balance. We also took small steps like clearing pathways for him at home and removing tripping hazards to prevent a fall from happening. I did what I could based on my experiences as an instructor to do some basic tai chi warm-ups with him and help him with his balance, but this was a group effort.

It may have been difficult at the start, but over time he started to notice some real changes as his body felt stronger, more flexible, and more balanced.

I see this in my work at the senior center, as well. A couple of weeks can sometimes be all it takes for people to realize that these are things that are healthy for them and do genuinely prevent the type of catastrophic fall that keeps anyone taking care of an elderly loved one up at night.

Ultimately, I wish that more people knew that it doesn’t have to take a fall or other major health crisis to spur these lifestyle changes as they age. Information for evaluating risk of falls is publicly available, and with Falls Prevention Awareness Week coming up soon, I highly encourage elders and caregivers to make the most of these resources to get ahead of a potential accident.

Once that risk is evaluated, I hope we are able to maintain the patience that’s required to make sure our elders get to a place where they’re physically and emotionally prepared to live their lives to the fullest extent possible.

Victoria Martinez serves as a tai chi instructor and language coordinator with the Nambé Pueblo.