{"id":11098,"date":"2018-01-31T17:19:22","date_gmt":"2018-01-31T13:19:22","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/aroxjblog.am\/?p=11098"},"modified":"2018-01-31T17:29:26","modified_gmt":"2018-01-31T13:29:26","slug":"afraid-of-falling-for-older-adults-the-dutch-have-a-cure","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/aroxjblog.am\/en\/afraid-of-falling-for-older-adults-the-dutch-have-a-cure\/","title":{"rendered":"Afraid of Falling? For Older Adults, the Dutch Have a Cure"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><\/p>\n<p id=\"story-continues-1\" class=\"story-body-text story-content\" data-para-count=\"141\" data-total-count=\"141\">LEUSDEN, Netherlands \u2014 The shouts of schoolchildren playing outside echoed through the gymnasium where an obstacle course was being set up.<\/p>\n<p class=\"story-body-text story-content\" data-para-count=\"221\" data-total-count=\"362\">There was the \u201cBelgian sidewalk,\u201d a wooden contraption designed to simulate loose tiles; a \u201csloping slope,\u201d ramps angled at an ankle-unfriendly 45 degrees; and others like \u201cthe slalom\u201d and \u201cthe pirouette.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/GQ5CkD97ppY\" width=\"560\" height=\"315\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p class=\"story-body-text story-content\" data-para-count=\"263\" data-total-count=\"625\">They were not for the children, though, but for a class where the students ranged in age from 65 to 94. The obstacle course was clinically devised to teach them how to navigate treacherous ground without having to worry about falling, and how to fall if they did.<\/p>\n<p id=\"story-continues-3\" class=\"story-body-text story-content\" data-para-count=\"285\" data-total-count=\"910\">\u201cIt\u2019s not a bad thing to be afraid of falling, but it puts you at higher risk of falling,\u201d said Diedeke van Wijk, a physiotherapist who runs WIJKfysio and teaches the course three times a year in Leusden, a bedroom community just outside Amersfoort, in the center of the country.<\/p>\n<p id=\"story-continues-4\" class=\"story-body-text story-content\" data-para-count=\"210\" data-total-count=\"1120\">The Dutch, like many elsewhere, are living longer than in previous generations, often alone. As they do, courses that teach them not only how to avoid falling, but how to fall correctly, are gaining popularity.<\/p>\n<p class=\"story-body-text story-content\" data-para-count=\"210\" data-total-count=\"1120\">This one, called Vallen Verleden Tijd course, roughly translates as \u201cFalling is in the past.\u201d Hundreds of similar courses are taught by registered by physio- and occupational therapists across the Netherlands.<\/p>\n<div class=\"story-body-supplemental\">\n<div class=\"story-body story-body-4\">\n<p id=\"story-continues-9\" class=\"story-body-text story-content\" data-para-count=\"229\" data-total-count=\"1562\">Yet falling courses \u2014 especially clinically tested ones \u2014 are a fairly recent phenomenon, according to Richard de Ruiter, of the Sint Maartenskliniek in Nijmegen, the foundation hospital that developed this particular course.<\/p>\n<p class=\"story-body-text story-content\" data-para-count=\"175\" data-total-count=\"1737\">Virtually unheard-of just a decade ago, the courses are now common enough that <a href=\"https:\/\/www.loketgezondleven.nl\/interventieoverzicht2\/Valpreventie\">the government rates them<\/a>. Certain forms of Dutch health insurance even cover part of the costs.<\/p>\n<p class=\"story-body-text story-content\" data-para-count=\"231\" data-total-count=\"1968\">While the students are older, not all of them seemed particularly frail. Herman van Lovink, 88, arrived on his bike. So did Annie Houtveen, 75. But some arrived with walkers and canes, and others were carefully guided by relatives.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"image\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"media-viewer-candidate\" src=\"https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2017\/11\/21\/world\/europe\/xxFalling-slide-6JBI\/xxFalling-slide-6JBI-superJumbo.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"837\" height=\"688\" data-mediaviewer-src=\"https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2017\/11\/21\/world\/europe\/xxFalling-slide-6JBI\/xxFalling-slide-6JBI-superJumbo.jpg\" data-mediaviewer-caption=\"Ms. Kuhn walking in the gym\u2019s schoolyard.\" data-mediaviewer-credit=\"Jasper Juinen for The New York Times\" \/><\/div>\n<p><em><strong><span class=\"caption-text\">Ms. Kuhn walking in the gym\u2019s schoolyard.<\/span> <span class=\"credit\"> <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Credit<\/span> Jasper Juinen for The New York Times <\/span><\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<div class=\"story-body-supplemental\">\n<div class=\"story-body story-body-5\">\n<p id=\"story-continues-11\" class=\"story-body-text story-content\" data-para-count=\"130\" data-total-count=\"2098\">Falling can be a serious thing for older adults. Aging causes the bones to become brittle, and broken ones do not heal as readily.<\/p>\n<p class=\"story-body-text story-content\" data-para-count=\"266\" data-total-count=\"2364\">Today, 18.5 percent of the Dutch population \u2014 roughly 3.2 million people \u2014 is 65 or older, according to <a href=\"http:\/\/statline.cbs.nl\/Statweb\/publication\/?VW=T&amp;DM=SLNL&amp;PA=37296ned&amp;D1=a&amp;D2=0,10,20,30,40,50,60,(l-1),l&amp;HD=171228-1934&amp;HDR=G1&amp;STB=T\">official statistics<\/a>. In 1950, about the time some of the younger course participants were born, people 65 or older made up just 7.7 percent of the population.<\/p>\n<p class=\"story-body-text story-content\" data-para-count=\"128\" data-total-count=\"2492\">Across the Netherlands, 3,884 people 65 or older died as result of a fall in 2016, a 38 percent increase from two years earlier.<\/p>\n<p id=\"story-continues-12\" class=\"story-body-text story-content\" data-para-count=\"167\" data-total-count=\"2659\">Experts say the rise in fatalities reflects the overall aging of the population, and also factors such as the growing use of certain medications or general inactivity.<\/p>\n<p class=\"story-body-text story-content\" data-para-count=\"192\" data-total-count=\"2851\">\u201cIt\u2019s same as with young children: More and more old people have an inactive lifestyle,\u201d said Saskia Kloet, a program manager at VeiligheidNL, an institution that offers similar courses.<\/p>\n<p class=\"story-body-text story-content\" data-para-count=\"86\" data-total-count=\"2937\">Even inactivity in one\u2019s 30s or 40s could lead to problems later in life, she noted.<\/p>\n<p class=\"story-body-text story-content\" data-para-count=\"158\" data-total-count=\"3095\">Like many people her age, Hans Kuhn, 85, worried that her daily routine \u2014 and the ability to live alone \u2014 would end if she ever lost her balance and fell.<\/p>\n<p class=\"story-body-text story-content\" data-para-count=\"308\" data-total-count=\"3403\">She has lived in her house for decades, and alone since her partner died years ago. Its steeply winding staircase is equipped with a motorized chair on a rail to help reach upper floors. \u201cI only use it when I have to bring lots of heavy things upstairs,\u201d said Ms. Kuhn, herself a retired physiotherapist.<\/p>\n<p id=\"story-continues-14\" class=\"story-body-text story-content\" data-para-count=\"229\" data-total-count=\"3632\">Ms. Kuhn\u2019s entire house is a study in efficiency and simple modifications that can make all the difference for an older person. Hand grips are installed in just the right places, as well as ramps to accommodate her two walkers.<\/p>\n<p class=\"story-body-text story-content\" data-para-count=\"153\" data-total-count=\"3785\">There is a stationary exercise bike to keep her moving, and a weight machine made from a big can of beans and string to maintain her upper body strength.<\/p>\n<p class=\"story-body-text story-content\" data-para-count=\"149\" data-total-count=\"3934\">Even as she feels herself grow frailer and less flexible, she knows how to stay fit. \u201cMy main problem is I\u2019m very afraid of falling,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n<p id=\"story-continues-17\" class=\"story-body-text story-content\" data-para-count=\"186\" data-total-count=\"4120\">So she joined the course, which meets twice a week. On Tuesdays, the students build confidence by walking and re-walking the obstacle course. Thursdays are reserved for the actual falls.<\/p>\n<p id=\"story-continues-18\" class=\"story-body-text story-content\" data-para-count=\"140\" data-total-count=\"4260\">In order to learn, the students start by approaching the mats slowly, lowering themselves down at first. Over the weeks, they learn to fall.<\/p>\n<div class=\"story-body-supplemental\">\n<div class=\"story-body story-body-8\">\n<p id=\"story-continues-20\" class=\"story-body-text story-content\" data-para-count=\"200\" data-total-count=\"4460\">\u201cNaturally, they are not interested in courses on falling at first, but once they see that they can do it, then it\u2019s fun,\u201d Ms. Kloet said. \u201cBut there is also a very important social aspect.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"story-body-text story-content\" data-para-count=\"160\" data-total-count=\"4620\">Indeed, seeing one another helplessly sprawled across the gym mats gave way to giggling and plenty of dry comments, knowing jokes, general ribbing and hilarity.<\/p>\n<p class=\"story-body-text story-content\" data-para-count=\"187\" data-total-count=\"4807\">\u201cStop your chattering,\u201d Ms. van Wijk warned a group of well-dressed women who were supposed to be concentrating on the correct way to let themselves fall onto the foot-thick blue mat.<\/p>\n<p class=\"story-body-text story-content\" data-para-count=\"94\" data-total-count=\"4901\">\u201cI would,\u201d said Loes Bloemdal, 80, laughing. \u201cBut I have no one to talk with all day.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"media-viewer-candidate aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2017\/11\/21\/world\/europe\/xxFalling-slide-LRBE\/xxFalling-slide-LRBE-superJumbo.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1086\" height=\"724\" data-mediaviewer-src=\"https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2017\/11\/21\/world\/europe\/xxFalling-slide-LRBE\/xxFalling-slide-LRBE-superJumbo.jpg\" data-mediaviewer-caption=\"Ms. Silkens, right, and Frans Poss, 94, left, training on how to fall and get up.\" data-mediaviewer-credit=\"Jasper Juinen for The New York Times\" \/><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div id=\"story-continues-21\" class=\"story-interrupter\">\n<figure id=\"media-100000005564124\" class=\"media photo embedded layout-jumbo-horizontal media-100000005564124 ratio-tall\" data-media-action=\"modal\"><figcaption class=\"caption\"><span class=\"caption-text\">\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 <em><strong>\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0Ms. Silkens, right, and Frans Poss, 94, left, training on how to fall and get up.<\/strong><\/em><\/span><em><strong> <span class=\"credit\"> <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Credit<\/span> Jasper Juinen for The New York Times<\/span><\/strong><\/em><\/figcaption><figcaption class=\"caption\"><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<div id=\"story-continues-22\" class=\"story-interrupter\">\n<figure id=\"media-100000005596392\" class=\"media photo embedded layout-jumbo-horizontal media-100000005596392 ratio-tall\" data-media-action=\"modal\">\n<div class=\"image\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"media-viewer-candidate aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2017\/12\/10\/world\/xxfalling2\/xxfalling2-superJumbo.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1094\" height=\"730\" data-mediaviewer-src=\"https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2017\/12\/10\/world\/xxfalling2\/xxfalling2-superJumbo.jpg\" data-mediaviewer-caption=\"The students start by lowering themselves down onto the mats slowly. Over the weeks, they learn to fall.\" data-mediaviewer-credit=\"Jasper Juinen for The New York Times\" \/><\/div><figcaption class=\"caption\"><em><strong><span class=\"caption-text\">The students start by lowering themselves down onto the mats slowly. Over the weeks, they learn to fall.<\/span> <span class=\"credit\"> <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Credit<\/span> Jasper Juinen for The New York Times <\/span><\/strong><\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"story-body-supplemental\">\n<div class=\"story-body story-body-9\">\n<p id=\"story-continues-23\" class=\"story-body-text story-content\" data-para-count=\"108\" data-total-count=\"5009\">In preparing their bodies for a possibly apocalyptic event, the students appeared to forget about their age.<\/p>\n<p class=\"story-body-text story-content\" data-para-count=\"134\" data-total-count=\"5143\">Mr. van Lovink, the cyclist, asked if they would learn standing on one leg. \u201cWhy would you want to do that?\u201d replied Ms. van Wijk.<\/p>\n<p class=\"story-body-text story-content\" data-para-count=\"107\" data-total-count=\"5250\">\u201cTo be able to put on my pants,\u201d Mr. van Lovink said seriously, but to the amusement of his classmates.<\/p>\n<p class=\"story-body-text story-content\" data-para-count=\"72\" data-total-count=\"5322\">Ms. van Wijk advised them all to always sit when putting on their pants.<\/p>\n<p class=\"story-body-text story-content\" data-para-count=\"151\" data-total-count=\"5473\">\u201cThat\u2019s the power of physiotherapy with geriatrics,\u201d she said. \u201cYou practice the things you know you can do, and not the things you can\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"story-body-text story-content\" data-para-count=\"151\" data-total-count=\"5473\"><strong>Surce by\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2018\/01\/02\/world\/europe\/netherlands-falling-elderly.html\">nytimes.com<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>LEUSDEN, Netherlands \u2014 The shouts of schoolchildren playing outside echoed through the gymnasium where an obstacle course was being set<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":11099,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1,3],"tags":[1627],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/aroxjblog.am\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11098"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/aroxjblog.am\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/aroxjblog.am\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/aroxjblog.am\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/aroxjblog.am\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=11098"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/aroxjblog.am\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11098\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":11101,"href":"https:\/\/aroxjblog.am\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11098\/revisions\/11101"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/aroxjblog.am\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/11099"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/aroxjblog.am\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11098"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/aroxjblog.am\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=11098"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/aroxjblog.am\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=11098"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}