Your parents’ health may hang in the balance.
Falls are the leading cause of fatal and nonfatal injuries for adults over 65, with about 14 million falling each year.
For those caring for aging parents and worried about their risk of falling, knowing what signs to look for can make all the difference — and it only takes about 10 seconds.
While falling risk increases as we age, it rarely “comes out of nowhere,” according to geriatric specialist Dr. Anita Chandra. Many people show subtle changes beforehand.
How they perform four key actions “can be early signs of declining strength or balance.”
Enter the Timed Up and Go (TUG) test, a four-step screening tool where both time and movement are of importance.
“Honestly, I’m watching much more than the stopwatch,” Chandra said in a social media post. “I’m watching how they move. Movement often tells me more than imaging ever could.”
Read on for the four movements Chandra evaluates.
1. Standing up without using their arms
Does your parent need the assistance of their arms to stand up out of the chair? The need to push off with their hands can be an early sign of lower-body weakness or age-related muscle loss, a condition known as sarcopenia.
As muscles weaken over time, everyday tasks like climbing stairs or getting out of a chair can become more difficult, as well as increase the risk of falling.
2. How they walk
Chandra also recommends paying close attention to how your parents walk: Are they walking slower or taking short steps? Are they swinging their arms? Do they seem unsteady?
We may walk slower and become more tired from walking as we age due to ankle mobility, with an Australian study finding that older adults stiffened the ankle to prevent falls.
This in turn forces the muscles to work harder, causing shorter strides, slower walking and faster fatigue.
3. How they turn around
There’s more to this part of the TUG test than meets the eye.
“Turning around requires balance, coordination and strength,” Chandra said. “A slow or unstable turn often tells me to dig deeper.”
And the sooner you can keep an eye out, the better, as balance begins to decline as early as age 50, with adults only being able to stand on one foot for 45 seconds compared to one minute or more for adults in their 20s and 30s.
Balance is also an indicator of longevity. Older adults who performed well on a balance test were about half as likely to die as their peers.
4. Sit down with control
Just as being able to get up out of a chair is a sign of aging, so is being able to sit back down, namely with control.
“Falling down or plopping back into the chair could be another sign that leg strength is declining,” Chandra wrote.
Keeping an eye out for these subtle signs can make the difference before a fall happens, giving you time to take your parent to a physical therapy evaluation, medication review, vision check or strength program.
“If you’ve noticed your parent moving differently lately, it’s worth mentioning to their primary care clinician,” Chandra added.
