{"id":93,"date":"2016-09-02T00:22:00","date_gmt":"2016-09-02T00:22:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/davidchangspine.com\/?p=93"},"modified":"2023-09-19T15:09:31","modified_gmt":"2023-09-19T15:09:31","slug":"5-ways-to-prevent-spine-injuries-from-falls","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/davidchangspine.com\/5-ways-to-prevent-spine-injuries-from-falls\/","title":{"rendered":"5 Ways To Prevent Spine Injuries From Falls"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Falls are a leading cause of spine injury among older individuals, but younger populations aren\u2019t immune from falls either. Whether it\u2019s from losing your balance or missing a step while walking down the stairs, a fall injury can quickly take a serious toll on your spine. Today, we share five tips for strengthening your spine and avoiding painful falls.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Avoiding Fall Injuries<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Consider these five tips if you want to keep your spine strong and injury-free from falls:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

1. Balance Training<\/strong> \u2013 Although balance training typically focuses on your lower half, the benefits are reaped by your whole body in the form of injury prevention. Balance training is especially important as we get older, as we slowly start to lose some of our coordination. Depending on your age and ability, you can find a balance training program that fits your need rather easily. If you\u2019re comfortable trying a stability ball or a wobble board, those can be great options, but if you\u2019d rather just do some balance training on your own, stand near a counter or wall and practice balancing on one leg for 20 seconds at a time. If you work hard to improve your balance, you\u2019ll greatly reduce your likelihood of a spine injury from a fall.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

2. Pay Attention<\/strong> \u2013 It seems like more young people are heading to the doctor\u2019s office these days because they weren\u2019t paying attention to the world around them. If your head is looking down at your phone, you\u2019re at risk for a fall injury. Pay attention to each step as you climb or descend stairs, and keep your head up when you\u2019re walking outside on the sidewalk. All it takes is one misguided step to send you sprawling on the pavement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

3. Wear The Right Shoes<\/strong> \u2013 If your shoes are lacking tread, or you\u2019re wearing an open-toed shoe in the wrong setting, you\u2019re setting yourself up for slips, trips and falls. Only wear oped-toed shoes or sandals when you know you are going to be walking on smooth, dry surfaces. On the flip side, during the winter months it\u2019s imperative that you wear shoes that can handle a patch of ice. Spine injuries from falls can be more severe in the winter as the ice and ground are generally harder than most surfaces. Plan ahead and always wear the right shoe for the occasion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

4. Strengthen Your Spine<\/strong> \u2013 Another way to prevent spine injuries from falls is to ensure your spine is strong and durable. You can do this by getting regular exercise, eating a healthy diet, and taking multivitamins that ensure you get all the nutrients your bones need to stay healthy. Osteoporosis can put a person\u2019s spine at risk for fracture<\/a>, so be sure to get regular bone density screenings as you get older, and heed your doctor\u2019s advice for strengthening your bones.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

5. Take Your Time<\/strong> \u2013 Another reason people suffer spine injuries from falls is because they are in a hurry. Whether they\u2019re trying to run down the stairs or they don\u2019t wait for their spotter to return before climbing a ladder, a number of patients suffer a fall because they were rushing to get somewhere. Be patient, because nothing is going to set you back more than a trip to the doctor\u2019s office if you fall and get injured!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Falls are a leading cause of spine injury among older individuals, but younger populations aren\u2019t immune from falls either. Whether it\u2019s […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-93","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/davidchangspine.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/93","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/davidchangspine.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/davidchangspine.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/davidchangspine.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/davidchangspine.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=93"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/davidchangspine.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/93\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":94,"href":"https:\/\/davidchangspine.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/93\/revisions\/94"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/davidchangspine.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=93"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/davidchangspine.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=93"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/davidchangspine.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=93"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}