‘Mum has had a fall.’ Why advice to take it easy could hold her back
Your mum might call to say she’s unexpectedly tripped over, or you might even walk in to find her on the floor. She is shaken and bruised, but insisting she is fine.
Once the panic settles, people tend to give the same advice: ‘Sit down, put your feet up, take it easy for a while’. It is what any loving family would say. But according to physiotherapist Hassan Mohamoud, it could be the very thing that holds her back.
The instinct every family has after a fall
Hassan says: ‘The myth I correct most weeks is about rest. After a fall, families wrap someone in cotton wool, and the person often wants to sit still because sitting feels safe. In my experience, the opposite is what helps – moving early, carefully, with guidance. Strength lost in two weeks of sitting can take months to rebuild, especially in your eighties.’
Rest has two hidden costs.
The first is strength. Legs that are not used weaken quickly, especially in later life, and getting out of a chair, climbing the stairs or stepping into the bath all become harder. That makes another fall more likely, not less.
The second is fear, and that can be harder to shift than the bruises. As Hassan puts it: ‘The fall takes seconds. The fear can reshape a life within a month.’
Fear often shows in small ways at first. Your parent might walk more slowly, turn down invitations or stop popping to the shops. Before long, they may be wary of moving around their own home, and the armchair starts to feel like the only safe place. Moving less weakens muscles and balance, which feeds the fear. It is a spiral that is far easier to stop early than to reverse later.
The warning sign that comes before the fall
Often the signs of trouble appear before anyone falls.
Hassan describes one that most families see without realising what it means – furniture walking.
‘When someone starts crossing a room hand-to-hand, from the chair to the sideboard to the doorframe, that is the sign families miss, because it looks like habit rather than balance. By the time someone is holding the wall, their body has already told them they are unsteady. That is the moment to act, not after the first fall.’
Watch how your parent moves around their home. Do they touch the back of the sofa every time they pass it, or keep close to the walls? They may not notice they are doing it. If you do, you can act before a fall rather than after one.
What helps more than rest
Whether your parent has already had a fall or you have noticed the early signs, three simple steps make the biggest difference, and none of them needs special equipment or a big budget.
Keep them moving, carefully
Moving after a fall does not mean pushing hard. It means a little, often, and safely. One simple exercise is standing up from a chair without using the hands. Use a sturdy chair without wheels, stay nearby for the first few attempts, and start with however many feel comfortable. Done daily, it builds the leg strength that everyday life depends on. If anything hurts or feels unsteady, stop and ask for advice.
Make the home safer
‘The cheapest fix is free – lift the rugs’, Hassan explains. Trailing cables and clutter on the stairs are worth clearing too.
Then walk your parent’s route from bed to bathroom in the dark, as they would at 3am. A lamp within reach of the bed or a night light on the landing can make a real difference. Hassan says ten minutes spent on that route can prevent the most common fall he sees.
Get every fall checked
After any fall, even one that seemed lucky, book an appointment with the GP or a physiotherapist. A fall can be a sign of something else, such as a change in eyesight, blood pressure or medication. Getting help early matters, because the weeks spent waiting are often when strength and confidence start to slip away. It is also a chance to ask which exercises suit your parent.
Do not let a fall go unmentioned
Many older people play down a fall or hide it altogether. They may feel embarrassed, or fear that it means losing their independence, but Hassan is clear: ‘The biggest mistake is keeping a first fall quiet. It is the best early warning we ever get.’
Mentioning a fall to a GP or physiotherapist is not a sign of giving up. It is how the next one gets prevented. So ask, gently and directly: ‘Have you had any trips or falls lately?‘ Make it clear that the aim is to protect their independence, not to take it away.
Start with one conversation
Recovering from a fall, and preventing the next one, does not take a big plan. A little movement most days does more than a lot once a week. Small, regular habits are easier to keep up, and they are kinder on confidence too. So start small: one conversation, one rug, one chair stand. Each takes minutes, and any one of them is a better start than the rest.
Hassan Mohamoud is an HCPC-registered physiotherapist and director of Clearcut Physiotherapy in London.
Image by Unsplash.