Incontinence and Senior Falls (Nevada Senior Guide)

Seniors who have urinary incontinence have been shown to have 3 times the risk of falls as compared to seniors without urinary incontinence. The connection between urinary incontinence and falls is surprising but studies do show that when you are able to care for your bladder issues you will have a less likely chance of dealing with falls. Falls in the elderly can lead to severe problems like hip fractures and in many cases hip surgery may be too hard to recover from and can lead to death.

There are close to 1.9 million emergency room visits each year due to senior falls. If managing your urinary incontinence problems will prevent or decrease your risk of senior falls, it is important to figure out how you can start taking control of these urinary issues. So why are senior falls and urinary incontinence linked in some way? Most of the studies indicate that there is an issue with falls when a senior is rushing to get to the bathroom. They may trip over furniture and even over their own feet in their rush to relieve their bladder before it starts to dribble. Not only are the bladder muscles to blame for incontinence they are also to blame for senior falls. Weak bladder muscles actually aid in controlling our balance and when they are not strong, they will lead to serious issues.

What can you do in order to prevent falls in the home? It helps to make the home into a safer environment by installing safety devices like railings and using a walker to help you get around. It is also important to keep the home clean and organized in order to prevent piles from getting in the way when you are walking around. Grab bars in the bathtub and next to the toilet will also be able to help prevent falls from occurring when you are rushing to get to the restroom.

Strengthening the pelvic core muscles will also aid in managing urinary incontinence along with helping to prevent falls from occurring. Studies done on women dealing with urinary incontinence and balance problems find that when a woman is able to strengthen her pelvic core muscles she will have a lower change of dealing with dribble throughout the day and her body will respond quickly if she does slip or trips over something.

Muscles do get weak but they can be strengthened and retrained at any age, allowing you to fix bladder control problems even if you have dealt with them in the past. Some seniors find relief when they start to exercise but they do notice they still have dribble when they laugh or get excited. This is completely normal and it helps to have some urinary incontinence products that can make living with urinary incontinence easier.

Some of the best exercises you can do in order to improve the pelvic core muscles include Kegel exercises. These exercises are commonly used during pregnancy to help prepare a woman’s body to give birth by making her lower region stronger. What you will focus on doing is squeezing the muscles that are used to stop the flow or urine. They are great for building muscle tone around your urethra and will aid in controlling the flow or urine when the bladder tries to release it.

Another exercise to do is to lie on your back with your knees at a 90 degree angle (feet flat on the floor) and to lift up your entire lower region and hold it tight for 10 seconds and release it back to the floor. Do this exercise daily to help strengthen your lower region as it will aid in providing you with stronger pelvic core muscles and preventing falls and problems with senior falls.

About the Author:
Incontinence products
Dianna Malkowski is a Board Certified Physician Assistant and Mayo Clinic trained nutritionist specializing in diabetes, cancer, wound healing, therapeutic diets and nutrition support.
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