So, you fell. It’s happened to all of us. No big thing, right? You fell a bazillion times when you were a kid. In your 20’s and 30’s, you fell a couple of times - playing with your kids to prove to them and to yourself that you Still Have IT. Or you had a few too many, or you were running for a plane. No big thing, pretty much. Maybe you and your sweetie and your friends laughed about it. As long as nothing bad happened, so what? And what bad thing could happen when you’re young?
But now, most of us who get out and play pickleball, or even just walk around the courts, are not so young any more. Likely you’re taking a bunch of medications if you are over 65. (Most in our age group take FIVE or more meds each day), and these meds have some nasty side effects, know it or not, such as falling. Your nerves and muscles, your brain and spinal cord, your eyes, are the age on your driver’s license, believe it or not: those body parts aren’t working as well as they once did. You play some PB and your heart bangs away - so, less blood to your brain, and you fall. You lose oxygen because you don’t breathe as well: down you go. You get dehydrated and your blood pressure drops - and YOU DROP. You lose your footing. You get lightheaded. YOU FALL. No big thing, still?
Nope. Big, Big Thing! People like you and me die from this. Or we can’t play PB any more. Whichever is worse.
But now, most of us who get out and play pickleball, or even just walk around the courts, are not so young any more. Likely you’re taking a bunch of medications if you are over 65. (Most in our age group take FIVE or more meds each day), and these meds have some nasty side effects, know it or not, such as falling. Your nerves and muscles, your brain and spinal cord, your eyes, are the age on your driver’s license, believe it or not: those body parts aren’t working as well as they once did. You play some PB and your heart bangs away - so, less blood to your brain, and you fall. You lose oxygen because you don’t breathe as well: down you go. You get dehydrated and your blood pressure drops - and YOU DROP. You lose your footing. You get lightheaded. YOU FALL. No big thing, still?
Nope. Big, Big Thing! People like you and me die from this. Or we can’t play PB any more. Whichever is worse.
Based upon the death rates for falls in the US, about 60 people our age just in Athens-Clarke will fall each year, AND DIE FROM IT. They could - and do - fall playing PB. They fall at home. Some 95% of all hip fractures are caused by falls, generally falling sideways. Falls are the most common cause of traumatic brain injury in people our age. Each year, 3 MILLION of us go to the ER with falls, and 800,000 have to be hospitalized. Why? From falling. Either you have fallen already (which means you are at greater risk for falling again), or you might could fall soon enough.
So, how do you know if you are at a big risk for falling? What can you do?
First, you want to talk to your doctor about EACH AND EVERY PILL YOU TAKE. Do you need it? Do you need it still after all these years of refilling those prescriptions so faithfully because you are afraid to stop and nobody says anything about those pills? What are the side effects, alone or together with those other pills I take from my other doctors, or from my TV doctors, or the TV ads, or from my health foods store? Medications can save your life. But meds can harm you, too. Find out!
Second, you want to talk to your doctor about your heart health, your brain health, your nerve health, your muscle health, your vision, AND falling. Aren’t you getting that yearly “Medicare Wellness Exam” for which Medicare is getting billed a gazillion dollars? Don’t you get those eye exams every year or so? Well, this is what you are supposed to find out at those exams. “Doctor, I play pickleball flat out, like it’s my last day on earth. What about my heart, lungs, brain, nerves, spinal cord, muscles, bones, vision, whatever? What are my risks for a fall, and what do I do if and when I do fall? ER? Go home and call you? What?”
Third, now that you’ve raised the issue with your doctors, you ask them what you can do about those risks. That is their job - to know risks to you. What kind of strength and balance exercises should you be doing? Yoga? Tai chi? Dancing? Kama sutra or kama chameleon? Find out, please. It’s your life.
Fourth, you might could do things at home to keep an eye on your strength and balance IF YOUR DOCTOR SAYS YOU SHOULD. Go to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control page about falls and safety. Read it and the links. That’s what you would do if the page was about some guy that your granddaughter brought home for Thanksgiving. Treat yourself with the same love and concern.
Fifth, keep track of your strength and balance for walking. For example, remember walking heel-to-toe on a straight line when you were a kid? It’s called “tandem gait”. Being able to walk like that tests some of the nerves that control your balance. If you can’t walk heel-to-toe, SOMETHING IS WRONG. An easy thing to do is called the “Timed Up and Go Test”. It can save your life, plus it’s a nice way to meet people at the bus terminal downtown. Can you get up from a deep couch? Do a deep knee bend or genuflect at your church? Keep your records and compare your results each time. You would keep records for your blood pressure or your blood sugar, right? Why them and not here when you have just as big a risk?
Look… it’s not fair that we have to do this. I would like to think the Lord meant for us to be young forever, to hit perfect drop shots from anywhere on the court, to wear Speedos forever: all of these until the day we die when it’s a gentle “side out” to the applause of our partner and our opponents. Don’t tempt fate, please.
And remember, this is not “medical advice”. This is just some friendly advice from somebody who is aging as fast as you are.
So, how do you know if you are at a big risk for falling? What can you do?
First, you want to talk to your doctor about EACH AND EVERY PILL YOU TAKE. Do you need it? Do you need it still after all these years of refilling those prescriptions so faithfully because you are afraid to stop and nobody says anything about those pills? What are the side effects, alone or together with those other pills I take from my other doctors, or from my TV doctors, or the TV ads, or from my health foods store? Medications can save your life. But meds can harm you, too. Find out!
Second, you want to talk to your doctor about your heart health, your brain health, your nerve health, your muscle health, your vision, AND falling. Aren’t you getting that yearly “Medicare Wellness Exam” for which Medicare is getting billed a gazillion dollars? Don’t you get those eye exams every year or so? Well, this is what you are supposed to find out at those exams. “Doctor, I play pickleball flat out, like it’s my last day on earth. What about my heart, lungs, brain, nerves, spinal cord, muscles, bones, vision, whatever? What are my risks for a fall, and what do I do if and when I do fall? ER? Go home and call you? What?”
Third, now that you’ve raised the issue with your doctors, you ask them what you can do about those risks. That is their job - to know risks to you. What kind of strength and balance exercises should you be doing? Yoga? Tai chi? Dancing? Kama sutra or kama chameleon? Find out, please. It’s your life.
Fourth, you might could do things at home to keep an eye on your strength and balance IF YOUR DOCTOR SAYS YOU SHOULD. Go to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control page about falls and safety. Read it and the links. That’s what you would do if the page was about some guy that your granddaughter brought home for Thanksgiving. Treat yourself with the same love and concern.
Fifth, keep track of your strength and balance for walking. For example, remember walking heel-to-toe on a straight line when you were a kid? It’s called “tandem gait”. Being able to walk like that tests some of the nerves that control your balance. If you can’t walk heel-to-toe, SOMETHING IS WRONG. An easy thing to do is called the “Timed Up and Go Test”. It can save your life, plus it’s a nice way to meet people at the bus terminal downtown. Can you get up from a deep couch? Do a deep knee bend or genuflect at your church? Keep your records and compare your results each time. You would keep records for your blood pressure or your blood sugar, right? Why them and not here when you have just as big a risk?
Look… it’s not fair that we have to do this. I would like to think the Lord meant for us to be young forever, to hit perfect drop shots from anywhere on the court, to wear Speedos forever: all of these until the day we die when it’s a gentle “side out” to the applause of our partner and our opponents. Don’t tempt fate, please.
And remember, this is not “medical advice”. This is just some friendly advice from somebody who is aging as fast as you are.
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