Falling over -“ having a fall”

I do sympathise. I've had a series of falls and it's terrifying.
I am so very careful now, all the time...
I think I might do that FutureLearn course.... thanks for that info.

Sorry to hear your confidence has taken a knock MawB. As Peardrop50 suggested, Pilates exercises are very good for improving muscle strength and balance. Best of all can be done anywhere at home, although you may not wish your dog to join in. My aged pet found my efforts highly entertaining.
I have always been clumsy and falling over is nothing new, however since acquiring varifocal lenses things have literally taken a turn for the worse. I now find myself descending stairs like someone 90+ (I'm 67). Still if I'm upright & moving it's a good day.
I think as we get older we are more aware that it takes longer to recover from minor setbacks.
Please try not to worry too much and enjoy your dogwalking

You have my sympathy MawB, I seem to have developed a talent for falling over in public in recent years. Nothing to do with Vitamin D levels for me as I take a prescribed supplement but I do have OA in my right hip and knee which I think makes me a bit unstable. My last exhibition was in the car park, right after having said hip and knee x rayed.

Sorry to hear that a fall or two has shaken your confidence MawB, it's bound to of course.
I find pilates is very helpful and ~I do miss my usual classes although I continue to do the balance exercises daily.
I also do what Espee suggests and stand on one leg when washing hands or brushing teeth.
Stating the obvious, balance is so very important.

I've always been a tripper and faller since I was a child. Useless balance plus I'm really uncoordinated. Eldest son is similar, so I don't associate it with ageing. Last month I tripped on my allotment and fell into a newly delivered pile of horse s***. I don't think I've laughed so much in a long time, but that's because it didn't hurt and there was no-one to witness my hurt pride. The most painful thing I ever did was to shut my own head in my car door because I jumped out too quickly and overbalanced.

Yes Fennel, good choice of Vitamin D in Boots. I’ve been taking it for nine or so years, I find I get less low in the last couple of winter months.

I'm 76. I fell in my kitchen a few weeks ago. Because of my Rheumatoid Arthritis my ankles and feet have very little movement in them, so once I trip, there's not much I can do. My wrists are damaged too, which makes saving myself with them impossible. I fell in the garden a couple of years back, and bruised my face and my confidence. The garden is not suitable really for a person with mobility issues, (72 stone steps and rocky) but during lockdown my DP has been installing a handrail which makes a huge difference. We tried to move to a bungalow but could not find anything at a price we could afford which had the facilities we have here, so decided to stay put eventually.

I might try that, Barmey.
Can you get VitD from Boots?

Vit D is the answer. I went through an awful time of falling, ending up with black eyes, split lip etc.. My Dr did some blood tests as she thought it might be Bit D Was deficient in and sure enough it was. Since I have been on them my balance is so much better I have never fallen. Mr Barmey is glad because he was afraid people might think it was him hitting me!!

I started to say " I had another fall" after I'd had 2 or3. Now about 10 in the last 10 years. Sense of balance always a factor. I'm 84.
I always fall towards my right side, and have worked out that this is because my left leg is longer than my right leg due to R hip replacement.
So when walking I try to remember to walk on the side of the road where the land slopes to the left. And look down to avoid risk of tripping. Try to walk on grass so that I'll get a soft landing.
I asked my GP to refer me for a bone density test and the result was quite good. Broken bones are the worst fear - I can cope with scrapes and bruises.
I don't want to stop going out for a walk, that would really be the start of giving up.

I’ve fallen a few times now, perhaps three. No major harm done, just bruising. I’m 80. I never say I’ve “had a fall”.

I find it particularly galling because I did a lot of ballet in my youth , and my balance was superb until few years ago. I was always the one who could keep my balance standing up on a very wobbly bus or train.

I'm doing a Zoom dance class for over 60s. It is great and chatting to the dancer who teaches it she told us that the class began originally as part of a falls prevention programme that was set up to help older people. I do think as a result of the exercises we do my balance has improved. So if you can't get on to a falls clinic you could try a dance or exercise class. Loads of them on You tube some specialising in balance.

Watching that programme which follows ambulance crews round Merseyside, it seemed they spent most of their time picking up old people off the floor.
It’s evidently very common so take great care.

Have you had your eyes tested, Maw?

I tend to stumble and fall when I need new glasses. Last year when I had a cataract forming was really difficult.

Please, do go on holding the banister on the stairs - I have started doing that too.

Standing on one leg at a time does help, I find, but do make sure there is something solid you can grab nearby to start off with. (I stand withing reach of the kitchen counter top.)

After reading these tales of tumbles and broken bones I am motivated to do some balance exercises. I guess the idea is to get into the habit of spending a few minutes each day so it’s as automatic as brushing our teeth.

it seems to be the difference between the active and the passive voice.
which is quite significant i guess. i'd not noticed it before.
i've heard that it is important to have longitudinal stress on the femur, which is easily provided by going up down stairs.
but please grip banister. no reason to take unnecessary risks.

I fell flat on my face running after my granddaughter as she thought it was fun to run towards the road. I think it was the sight of Nanny lying on the ground that stopped her in her tracks as well as my yell of panic. It flipping well hurt and the next day I was stiff as a board. It does make you wary. You are so much more aware of the potential damage you can do yourself as you get older.

I remember Jo Brand saying that as she got older she noticed that young people "Fall Down" the elderly "Have A Fall" as if it's a totally different event.

I had a short spell of falling over a couple of years ago. I would just fall without tripping or anything on flat ground. Didn't hurt myself but was getting rather worried, then I stopped wearing my Fly's slouch boots which I loved and it didn't happen again. So I blamed the boots.

I do that too Bellanonna, ( same age )or when putting my drawers on I stand on one leg at a time without leaning against the tiles or radiator.
I'm quite dab hand at it I had a TIA a couple of years ago which affected my balance for a short while so adopted the standing on one leg to strengthen the left leg which was affected and felt like a lead weight. I've never fallen either.

I also get up out of the armchair using my strength and not leaning or holding onto the arms of the chair. That's good for abdominal muscles and also the thighs. I do it regularly every day that it just comes natural now.

I grab one leg by the knee and hold it up for 30 seconds, then alternate. I do this about 4 times a day. At nearing 80 I haven’t fallen yet thank goodness. It’s well worth the effort and I have definitely improved.

I slipped on some wet leaves in a park while walking my dog. Landed heavily on my left knee and ruptured the tendon in my kneecap. Had to have an operation, leg brace for 9 weeks and physio, still need a stick to walk. Surgeon said it will never get back as it was due to my age (68). This was 8 months ago, and i'm paranoid about falling now.

Bluebelle, has your friend been tested for bone strength/ density. maybe there are some supplements she could take.
to the OP i think we have to expect and accept that we will be more prone to falling as we age and take longer to recover.
it's just a fact of life. it's not some kind of laziness or lack of effort.
i guess that's a sore point for me at the moment. there is a person i know whose son takes no account of her actual state of infirmity, complex multiple morbidities, disability, mostly bed bound. he never met with doctors etc to find out. he tells her that she should walk about, make more effort, so as to spend less on care. he will never take advice from HCP re anything, thinks not necessary, he knows best. pushes her to uses gadgets totally unsuitable/ hazardous for her. she idolises him, and continues to suffer from his behaviour.

I have had a shocking sense of balance since my late teens when I developed tinnitus. If something causes me to lose balance suddenly, for example stepping on a loose paving slab, I tend to fall rather than regaining my balance as most people do. I’ve sprained my ankle a couple of times that way, and once broke my wrist when I fell. Exercises etc don’t really help because it’s not a muscle thing, it’s neurological. As I get older, I’m conscious that my bones are more likely to be fragile, so I wear flat shoes if I have to do any walking, and I watch where I’m stepping carefully. It’s not a big deal.

My friend fell and fracture or broke nearly all the bones in her face Eye socket both jaws cheekbones and many more I can’t remember She’s incredibly resilient and was able to joke her way through it all and healed so well without an operation Fast forward 9 months and she fell in the garden and has broken her sternum in two places she’s still joking with the doctors and healing well Again but I want to put her in cotton wool
I ve had a few falls but luckily not broken anything I think we do fall more as we get older my last one was luckily on the beach I saw a piece of old groyne protruding and my brain said make sure you miss that and I went straight into it It was one of those really slow motion falls where you are getting lower and lower over a good distance it must have looked so funny going going gone ..but only my pride hurt thankfully