Weekly Cup of Joe - Episode #17 - Balance & Dizziness Workshop

Read the transcript for this video:

Good morning. Happy Monday and welcome to your Weekly Cup of Joe! My name is Joe King and we are talking about balance and dizziness. This is our third segment of that. So today we want to talk just a little bit about fall prevention. So what you can do at home to help decrease that risk of falling. And there are some easy things that can be done, probably heard of a few already but it's always good to reiterate and go over them. So the first thing you can do is remove area rugs; so, can be a big hazard. It's nice to have a hardwood floor. Some people even put area rugs on top of rugs or on top of carpets. So that transition is a little bit too much sometimes. So definitely remove area rugs or even smaller rugs that might become a tripping hazard.

Another thing that you can do is to make sure things are well lit. So that keep those dark areas well-lit hallways, corners, things you just might not see what's going on so well might not pick up your feet so much might trip on something. So especially at night, making sure areas are well lit. You can use little lights and plugins or I should say plugin lights and the receptacles. So whatever works to keep the lights or the area well lit. Having electrical cords running across thresholds is another problem that we see a lot of. So make sure those thresholds are clear of anything that are, might be going over the top of could be rugs again. Or like I said, electrical cords sometimes happen.

Another big one is to wear the proper footwear. So a lot of us like to wear socks in the house. So sometimes the socks with older carpet and or hardwood floors create a slippery surface, not so good or wearing slip-on shoes with slippery soles are not so good either. Making sure that your slippers have a good surface, a good rubberized surface or wearing tennis shoes is always appropriate. So think of those things now. As far as removing area rugs, wearing the proper footwear, keeping the area lit and then also removing the cords. So if you can do those things that can definitely help. And if you're having troubles or if somebody's having troubles with balance or business issues lately, or have had in the past, I want to find out more, Julie Crane, our Clinical Director' is doing a workshop on Wednesday, the 18th, she's doing two parts to it. In the first part, you have an option; you can do it online or via zoom at 06:30, that's going to 07:15, or if you want to do 10 second part of It, same information, but it's going to be in person. And that starts at 7:15 and is from 7:15 to 8 o’clock. So 6:30 to 7:15 zoom, 7:15 to 8 o'clock is in person. You can register, via the link below or call the office at (630) 892-8003, and they can register and you can let them know which one you would want to attend.

One thing I wanted to last leave you with is just talking about some safety, tips and reminders that, if you are coming into Physical Therapy Advantage, we are open, seeing our clients and also taking new clients, but just a couple of safety precautions we're dealing with as the pandemic is still going on. Is that once upon entering the clinic, you will be, asked to have a temperature check done, forehead or arm; touchless temperature check, we'll go over screening questions as well and then we are asking all of our clients to either wash their hands and, or sanitize before and again after their sessions when they're leaving as well. So just to let you know that we are taking some safety precautions for our health, your health, and just the general health and wellbeing of the community. Look forward to seeing you next week, have an amazing week, and we'll catch you for your Weekly Cup of Joe. Bye.