Fear of Falling, High Altitude, & Nature’s Medicine

Weekly Resource Roundup

Fear of Falling Increases Risk of Falling

In Katy Bowman’s book Dynamic Aging she states that a fear of fall is a risk factor for falling. Research found that people who hadn’t fallen but reported a fear of falling, were more likely to fall in the future. Being afraid of a fall changes the way we move. It results in decreased activity and a gait pattern with shorter strides, shuffling feet, and slower speed which all increase the risk of falling.

Individuals with a fear of falling track their environment differently with their eyes. People with high fear of falling focus stepping on a target placed in front of them, before looking and stepping onto another target. People with low fear of falling look at multiple steps in front of them creating a spatial map of where they’re going, which resulted in more successful stepping strategies.  Katy Bowman makes the point that we’ve mistakenly labeled “scared gait” as “senior gate.”

High Altitude and Aging

This article reviews the effects that altitude has on the body as we age. The takeaways:

1. It’s hard on the body for people coming from lower altitudes and moving/retiring to a higher altitudes. High altitude means there’s lower atmospheric pressure and less pressure to drive oxygen to the lungs. This combined with other natural processes with aging like reduced strength of the heart, stiffening lungs, and thicker arteries, make the reduced pressure of oxygen harder on the body.

2. Long-time residents of high-altitude areas have a decreased risk of cardiovascular disease and increased metabolism. The low oxygen availability forces the heart to grow new blood vessels, reducing the chances of a heart attack.