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Being aware of environment both inside and out is essential to maintain safety and keep our balance. Anyone that has had a fall over something can appreciate how something can just jump out at you from nowhere.
So how can we make our environment safe.  Heading into winter we start to change our footwear, slippers are dragged out of the cupboard and we start to put on socks to keep those feet warm. But how does this affect our balance poor footwear is a big hazard so how can you keep yourself safe?
SOCKS Socks are great if they go inside your shoes but worn with out shoes they are a hazard!! They can cause you to slip on tiled and wooden floors, if they are too loose you can trip over the socks themselves. It is important that you wear either bare feet or well fitting shoes or slippers. Banish wearing only socks in your home and stay safe. Our vision is an integral part of our balance system it helps navigate obstacles and potential hazards. It enables us to orientate to where our body and head are in relationship to the world around us.
As we age or with neurological disease our vision can change. This can affect our ability to judge steepness of stairs or curbs, avoid obstacles, take longer to adjust to changes in light and glare, all factors that could affect balance and cause falls. It is important to take good care of our vision and important that we adapt to these changes, whether it is having cataracts or glaucoma treated, having regular eye tests or exercises to improve gaze stability. This month my safety tip is to keep well hydrated, it is easy in these hot summer months to forget to drink enough. Not keeping hydrated can have a dramatic effect on your brain and body. Including
Our body is made up of 70 percent water so it makes sense to keep drinking. So how does it affect our brain, reduced fluid means a decrease in blood volume ultimately restricting the amount of oxygen and nutrients going to the brain we can become lethargic and this can decrease our alertness. When we already have processes that affect our brain we are increasing the difficulty we have to move and complete our daily activities. |
SarahOwner/operator and Senior Physiotherapist of Hibiscus Neuro Rehab. Categories
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August 2020
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