Preventing Falls by Reducing Risk
Presented by Mariana Wingood
Nonfinancial: Mariana Wingood has no competing nonfinancial interests or relationships with regard to the content presented in this course.
Once an older adult is identified as being at risk of falling, physical therapists must develop and prioritize a problem list, set meaningful and measurable goals, identify appropriate interventions, provide appropriately dosed interventions, assess the interventions’ outcomes, and make plans for discharge. This course will consider each of these factors, with an emphasis on evidence-based interventions, so that physical therapists can reduce an older adult’s risk of falling effectively. This final course in our two-course series completes the triad of (1) understanding the neurophysiology of postural control and the age-related and disease-related factors that may compromise efficacy of balance systems, (2) determining an older person’s individualized risk of falling, using both screening and multifactorial risk assessment strategies, and (3) developing evidence-based interventions that will reduce that risk.
Meet your instructor
Mariana Wingood
Dr. Mariana Wingood is an assistant professor at Wake Forest University School of Medicine. She earned her DPT from SUNY Upstate Medical University in 2012 and a graduate certificate in epidemiology, a PhD in human functioning and rehabilitation sciences, and an MPH from the University of Vermont (UVM) in 2021. While at UVM,…
Chapters & learning objectives
1. Developing a Plan of Care: Where Should You Start?
This chapter presents how to use the problem list, the evidence, and the guide to develop appropriately dosed interventions.
2. How to Improve Biomechanical Constraints
This chapter provides evidence-informed interventions on how to improve a patient’s biomechanical constraints.
3. How to Improve Anticipatory Postural Adjustments
This chapter provides evidence-informed interventions on how to improve a patient’s anticipatory postural adjustments.
4. How to Improve Reactive Balance Control
This chapter provides evidence-informed interventions on how to improve a patient’s reactive balance.
5. How to Improve Stability/Verticality
This chapter provides evidence-informed interventions on how to improve a patient’s stability, during both static and dynamic activities.
6. How to Improve Sensory Orientation
This chapter provides evidence-informed interventions on how to improve a patient’s use of sensory information.
7. When to Discharge and What to Do Next
This chapter highlights the importance of an effective home exercise program and accessing community-based programs to supplement and support gains achieved during one-on-one physical therapy intervention.
More courses in this series
Preventing Falls by Identifying Risk
Mariana Wingood
Preventing Falls by Reducing Risk
Mariana Wingood
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