Well, I did it again. A couple of months ago, I fell while in Charleston, South Carolina. This time my foot slipped on the sidewalk as I was about to cross the street albeit I was not at the crosswalk. My foot turned, but I was able to get up and walk on it. There was nothing broken only badly bruised. I said I did it again because some years ago, I was walking out of a restaurant in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma (fussing because they put tomato sauce in shrimp and grits–who does that). Well, I missed a step and there I went. Again, I was able to get up and walk on it–nothing was broken.
I thought it was just me, but recently I have been hearing more about women of a certain age stumbling and/or falling. I know we have all been walking on the sidewalk and it becomes uneven and we stumble. It seems our recovery period is not a split second anymore, it takes a couple of seconds which could lead to a fall. My college roommate says she finds herself looking down as she walks in order not to stumble on the sidewalk.
We’ve all seen the commercials telling us about supplements, and we’ve all had our bone density test done with our doctor telling us to take calcium and do weight-bearing and balancing exercises. I for one believe these things assisted me in not breaking a bone and have helped with my posture.
Our posture takes a hit because of osteoporosis, but also because of our obsession with our electronic devices (we are always looking down). These are two things we can work on.
After my latest fall, my doctor suggested that I increase my calcium supplements*, so I did. He didn’t give me a specific supplement just what it should contain–how much calcium, vitamin D, and so on.
I always thank my trainer, Marsha for having us do those crazy balance exercises because as long as I can get up without breaking something I’m okay. Let’s all do the same, practice a few weight-bearing exercises, get a little extra calcium, and watch our posture.
Remember “thisisyourbestyear”--we all fall down in life. It’s the getting up that is sometimes difficult.
