Isn fear of falling a good thing?
A balanced awareness of risks leads to reasonable decisions about what activities to avoid and how to make others safer to engage in. As we age, some things should clearly set off flashing red lights and sirens in our minds. I saw a client who had fallen several times using a child’s scooter to get around her home on stone tiled floors. My goal was to instill some fear of falling! Other clients are so fearful of falling that they avoid activities that should have been seen as green light opportunities for a little healthy exercise. In these cases, muscles get weaker by the day and the inactivity actually increases the risk of injury from a fall. Sometimes dangerous “red light” activities can be changed into cautionary “yellow light” activities with minor home modifications – like adding handrails on both sides of a stairway. A safety assessment helps clients and family members better understand risks and opportunities.
