Tom, a retired veterinarian diagnosed with Parkinson’s, was struggling with consistent movement. After IM training, not only was be able to improve his weight shifting but he also able to ease his reliance on his walker.
Kristen is a SLP from Irving, Texas. She treats adults with traumatic brain injury and is an active IM provider. Kristen assisted IM in testing the Fall Risk Reduction coaching program, providing valuable input to make the program as effective as possible. She has also made impressive gains with her patients with IM, especially with the Fall Risk Reduction coaching program. Read about her helpful tips and insights, and how the Fall Risk Reduction program is working for her patients.
Nearly 37 million people every year are injured in accidental falls, and a whopping 400,000 people globally die as the result of a fall. As the population ages, accidental falls have become a much bigger medical issue; however, falling is not just a concern for the elderly. A variety of factors put individuals at a higher risk of falling, many of which can be addressed at a bare minimum of costs.
Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is the result of an external force causing sudden movement and/or impact to the skull. The United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates that 1.5 million people in the US suffer a brain injury each year. Traumatic brain injuries are very different than any other injury because our brain stores all of our memories, controls our movements and shapes our personality; the brain is truly the essence of who we are. Interactive Metronome® (IM) can help TBI sufferers by working to physiologically change the functional brain networks that control rhythm and timing. IM offers a viable, cost-effective and drug free treatment for mild to moderate TBI. Now, individuals can restore function to the brain’s temporal processing network, not simply rehabilitate and adapt to deficits.
Preventing falls among patients in healthcare settings requires a comprehensive approach. As therapists we find that falls can result in hip fractures, head injuries or even death. In many cases, adults aged 65 years or older,who have experienced a fall, have a hard time recovering and their overall health deteriorates. One half of all older adults hospitalized for hip fracture never regain their former level of function. For our patients, the fear of falling results in self-limiting activities. It causes reduced mobility and fitness and ultimately predisposes them to falls.
