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Prevent bath falls with leg excercises and balance techniques.

As a CG I learned that people with neurological disorders who have
orientation problems take cues visually from their environment rather from
their inner ear. To know were up and down is, you need to see the
walls, floor, and how people and objects are standing. When you concentrate on
moving your hands to wash your face or shave, you probably lose focus on
your balance and are unaware you are falling until it's too late. Your
slowness of motion also prohibits you from reacting fast enough to regain
your balance.

I know may aunt often watched her feet to see what they were doing. With
PSP she little balance. Upon starting to walk she randomly would step back
or side-ways as she guessed how to move; and, though I'm 6 foot compared to
her 5'2", she often would push us both over. Once she got into the rhythm
of walking she could maintain a pace unless her legs began to freeze or
stop suddenly. The same with a stationary bike, sometimes she'd start
pedaling backwards.

Before she got diagnosed in 1993, I saw her begin to drink a glass of
water. She stood at the sink, holding on to the faucet to provide a
reference for balance and leaned into the counter to steady herself. She
filled the glass OK, lifted to her face and as she tilted her head up to
drink, fell straight backwards.

Hired CG would have her brush her teeth sitting but that was awkward. I
trained her to stand with her feet a bit wider apart than her shoulders
and leaning over the sink. It would've been best if I rigged a belt that
fastened her to the counter. But she rarely fell while brushing her teeth
until she tried to move away from the sink. The technique was to be
leaning into the sink/counter to steady the body so you don't have to
think about balance.

And my last word here is to workout in a gym or at home to build up the
strength of your legs. Do leg presses, knee extensions, stair climbing,
steping up and down on a step stool while holding on to something for
balance.


** A.J. Conovaloff -->> "The Molokan Cyber-Cowboy" <<--
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** Molokan HomePage: http://staff.gc.maricopa.edu/~jstory/molokan