4.5.3 Reducing Fall Risk Through Improving Physical Health

Let’s discuss the ways to increase good health to prevent falls.

Exercise daily

Taking steps to keep the body muscles’ structure strong will help to reduce the potential for falls and injuries, as it keeps the muscles ready for activity and increases the ability to move and adjust to changes in movement easily. Making a plan to exercise daily will create a routine and incorporate muscle memory into your fall prevention plan. This video gives options for exercises used in fall prevention programs.

Click here for a video transcript in .docx format: Video Transcript

These exercises can be modified if needed, and the time for each can be changed to fit the client’s needs.

Review all medications

Check if there might be medications (both prescription and over-the-counter) that cause dizziness, drowsiness or blurred vision by themselves or when taken with other medications. During the review, the clients are advised what each medication is used to treat and the pharmacist completing the review will connect with the doctor if they have concerns. The pharmacist will also suggest options for taking the medications after speaking with the client (i.e., time of day of the dosage, using a blister pack or a dosette).

Eat a balanced, nutritious diet

Eating healthy guards against malnutrition, which reduces the fall risk for people. Eating balanced meals, not missing meals, including plenty of vegetables and fruits, drinking adequate fluids and following your prescribed diet plan will increase your overall health, prevent malnutrition, and strengthen your muscles. This in turn will decrease your risk of falls. According to the American Journal of Lifestyle Medicine, good nutrition, or the lack of good nutrition, affects the muscle strength and therefore the fall risk of individuals (Esquivel, 2018). For more information on the importance of meals please refer to 6.1 Assisting with Meals: Food and the Body.