One of the major contribution to medical difficulties with the aged is their tendancy to fall and damage themselves severely. But there are ways to fall that can be learned to minimize the damage. If this training were offered universally to people over a prescribed age the savings in medical expenses could be very large and a good deal of suffering could be avoided. Insurance companies could offer this training as part of their coverage and to save themselves expensive costs for severe injuries.
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Akido provides very good training in learning to fall safely.
TaiChi offers a slightly different approach - it teaches body awareness. People who learn this also learn a different, more balanced, method of walking. So instead of learning how to fall, it teaches how not to fall it the first place.
Insurance companies are reluctant to pay for either instead of physical therapy. It seems that a bigger problem is how to encourage insurance companies to invest in prevention instead of reacting once something has broken.
Forget the insurance companies, ask the tai chi instructors. I'm sure they'd be happy to provide a free or discounted class for the elderly.
Equally valuable, or perhaps even more so, would be training in how to avoid getting themselves in a situation where a fall is likely.
No need for formal training. Simply stand outside your favorite distilled beverage-serving establishment at closing time and observe.
I'm sorry, but you really must be joking. Old people fall because they are infirm and just too damn weak to guard themselves from the impact. The moment of falling may also be accompanied by a mental blackout. I really don't see how some wobbly old soul is going to have the presence of mind to use Tai Chi or Judo techniques in the middle of a terrifying accident. You may as well recommend that they all live in rubber houses.
That's an awful generalization, [doogsby]. There are plenty of elderly who are just as sprightly as they were in youth. I feel that everyone should be taught how to break falls, especially when their own body weight becomes a liability.
My mother, still of working age, tore a tendon in her shoulder after tripping on an unleveled floor. She's fortunate she didn't take the fall square on her elbow and dislocate her shoulder.
This sort of forward thinking would have spared her an operation and three months of debilitation. Plus, the training would be much less expensive, much more fun, and the experience could lead towards a greater appreciation of the martial arts, if not bodily health in general.