My Joni Mitchell Story
"Don't it always seem to go
That you don't know what you got 'til its gone?
They paved paradise and put up a parking lot"
Joni Mitchell's Big Yellow Taxi song took on a new significance for me this weekend re: walking. I broke my foot playing tennis on Friday afternoon, and spent most of Saturday in the Cedars ER. I heard a pop when quickly changing direction to go from a forehand to backhand, and knew right away it was broken. Complete fracture of my 5th metatarsal. ARGH.
In the minutes following my fall with ZERO ability to weight bear on my right foot, I was able to get myself up with my arms and left leg and hop to the car. What it made me think about was the importance of being able to GET YOURSELF UP after falling down. I'm not talking about the metaphorical 'pick yourself up after life knocks you down' idea (though of course that is important). I'm talking about the physical strength to get up off the ground.
We should all expect to physically fall down at some point in our adult lives. Kids are so efficient at falling down and getting back up that they don't even think about it. They just do it. But there's a certain point, a certain age -- where falling becomes abnormal, and we don't spend much time practicing how to get up from the ground. The problem is that we will all fall down again, eventually. You don't know when or how it will happen -- but it will. Bummer, but it's true.
Fall prevention is the #1 PRIORITY for older adults. Balance training, adequate footwear, and weight-bearing exercise are all recommended to AVOID falls. As therapists, we even perform special tests to assess the likelihood of a fall in an older adult. This is critical, but doesn't quite complete the full picture. We should also be learning how to navigate life IN THE EVENT that we fall down.
The timing of this fall is actually a bit ironic, because Sarah Court and I have been talking about the launch of an upcoming program: Sarah's Strength Club.
This 4-week program focuses on STRENGTH TRAINING. Namely, how to safely and effectively become stronger in all the essential movement patterns -- squat, hinge, lunge, push, pull and carry. This small group training program will meet on May 2, 9, 16 and 23 (Tuesdays) at 6:00 PM.
I am grateful for my resistance training because since this injury, I find myself needing to do a single leg squat to get up from or sit down on the toilet. I need to load one foot to transition out of a car to get my crutches. I have to single leg hop up the stairs to get into my apartment. (I go down on my butt, much less gracefully). The ER docs were VERY concerned about the notion of a pregnant lady single-leg hopping down the stairs. Psssht.
Seriously, though: EVERY SINGLE PERSON should be doing some form of resistance training to focus not only on fall prevention, but also on fall recovery. I'm not a senior citizen, but I sure as heck want to stay strong enough to be physically independent, and be able to pick myself up after falling down. Our strength naturally deteriorates as we age. The passage of time = muscle loss and atrophy. Use it or lose it!
I recommend testing yourself. When you are on the floor, how easy is it to get back up without support? Can you do it with one arm? Without using your arms at all? With one leg?
If there is room for improvement, consider participating in Sarah's Strength Club. Sarah will be sharing more details about it in the coming weeks. In the meantime, if you see me hobbling around the clinic, not to worry -- my foot may be broken, but my spirit is not. I shall overcome!
~ Amanda