Staff at Home Close residential care home in Fulbourn near Cambridge are helping residents and local community members to stay physically strong in an effort to stop them coming to harm through falls.
The home, which is based on Cow Lane in the village, hosts ‘Falls Prevention’ classes every Thursday morning, which are open to members of the community as well as the people that live within the home.
Every year, more than one in three people over 65 suffer a fall that can cause serious injury, and even death* so the Home Close team were keen to find a way to help local elderly people and their residents avoid these types of accidents.
The classes, led by a local physiotherapist and exercise leader, guide attendees through a series of exercises that help provide strength and conditioning to reduce the chance of them being likely to fall.
The classes, which have been running for nearly two years, are held every Thursday morning at 10:45 for around an hour, followed by tea and coffee. The session involves seated and standing exercises to strengthen muscles that are known to weaken with old age.
81-year old Shirley French, who lives in the village, has been attending the classes regularly with her husband Don and speaks enthusiastically about the effects they have had on her. She said “The classes are just fantastic. Before I started going, I was getting really fed up with the aches and pains I was starting to feel.
“The classes make me feel invigorated and strong, and we practice exercises that involve a real explanation of what we are doing and why they are helping us, which is a great way for us to learn. It’s also a lovely way for us to socialise with other people, including the home’s residents, and I would thoroughly recommend it to anyone else who would like to stay strong in later life.”
Home Close Manager Razvan Stanbeca said, “Our falls classes are proving to be a real success. We wanted to find a way to provide a physical exercise class that was accessible and enjoyable to our residents and our elderly community, to help stop the injuries that are so common with falling.
“The group members tell us that the benefits are significant and I hope that more people will join us to take advantage of this fun and enjoyable session, which could really help avoid falls and other accidents, and the related consequences, that are typically associated with ageing.”