Feeling unsteady can be scary. Specialists in the fall-prevention program at Sentara provide personalized care to keep you on your feet.
Fall-Prevention Therapy: Why Choose Sentara?
Our team provides specialized care designed to help prevent falls by building strength and balance. Program highlights include:
- Collaborative care: Our physical therapy and occupational therapy specialists work together to provide care that keeps you safe.
- Focus on independence: We create personalized exercise plans for your unique needs. We help you continue participating in the activities you love.
- Comprehensive therapy: Our specialists help you manage all aspects of your life, from physical health to home safety.
Balance and Fall-Prevention Treatments and Services
If you're experiencing balance challenges or worrying about fall risk, our specialists provide treatments and training to keep you safe. We offer:
Fall prevention
We offer education to reduce your risk of falling and help you feel more confident. Our Sentara Awareness for Falls Education (S.A.F.E.) program includes personalized exercises to improve your:
- Balance
- Endurance
- Flexibility
- Strength
Our certified physical therapists work with you in this 12-month program. We check your progress and modify your program to help you get stronger.
Balance training
We create specific exercises designed to improve your balance and gait (how you walk). Our specialists work with you at one of our Sentara Therapy Centers and teach you balance exercises to do at home.
Orthopedic care
If you have trouble balancing because of pain or stiffness, we may send you to our orthopedic rehabilitation experts. Orthopedic care helps with balance issues due to:
- Joint replacement: Surgery to replace a damaged joint (such as a knee, hip or ankle) with an artificial joint
- Osteoarthritis: A condition causing cartilage (tissue that acts as a cushion between bones) to wear away, leading to painful bone-on-bone contact
- Osteoporosis: A disease causing bones to become thin and weak, which can lead to fractures
Treatments for age-related issues
Our specialists design treatments to help you manage age-related balance issues. As you get older, your ability to balance may change because of:
- Cognitive changes: Differences in how you think, including how you perceive space and distance
- Inner ear problems: Changes in how fluid moves in your inner ear, affecting how you see and feel space around you
- Muscular changes: Declines in strength affecting your body's ability to support itself
- Neuropathic (nerve) issues: Differences in your body's ability to respond to messages from your brain
- Vision changes: Changes in your eyesight that affect how you see your physical space
We work with you to treat any age-related changes that might affect your balance. Our specialists also recommend home safety tips to help manage risk, including:
- Adding sensor lights that come on as you walk
- Ensuring that stairways and paths have secure handrails
- Keeping pets in a confined area so they don't jump on you or get in your path as you're walking,
- Securing rugs, and electrical cords so you don't trip on them
Benefits of Fall-Prevention Therapy
Our fall-prevention specialists work with you to build strength and increase your confidence. We help improve your independence and your ability to take part in the activities you love.
Meet our experts to learn more about how we care for you.
Request an Appointment
Request an evaluation for our S.A.F.E. program today or schedule an appointment at a Sentara Therapy Center near you. Find our locations.