I stubbed my toe on a power washer hose outside a few weeks ago and started to fall. I tried to break my fall by grabbing the power washer. I did not realize the top of it was burning hot and I scalded my palm. The good news is that I did not break any bones or even get bruised. However, I did get an annoying burn on my hand that took over a week to heal.
“Pride goeth before a fall” is so utterly true in this case. If I had been using a walker the day I fell, I would not have fallen. For one thing I would have had to ask for help from the maintenance guy who was washing the sidewalk in order to get my walker over the hoses. Ask for help? God forbid. He actually did offer me help and I declined, saying ‘Oh I’m fine. I don’t need any help!”
But this has produced some more serious thinking about walking and falling. Somehow I seem to have forgotten I fell back in 2022 and wrote about it for this website, asking the same questions as I am today!
When is the appropriate time to start using a walker? And if so, what kind and when? I am currently resisting the idea. Why, you ask? Because walkers are for old people — really old people — and somehow I don’t perceive myself as a “really old person.” To have to walk with the assistance of a walker is an event that puts you in an entirely different category of sickness and health. When we first moved to our current retirement community, I recall feeling a little put off by the number of people who were using walkers. It suggested a future we were not ready to think about. We both walked in without any assistive devices at all, but that was six years ago. Now my husband uses a walker a lot, and I have tripped and fallen three times in the past few years. I have not been using either a walker or a cane — up to now.
Falls are probably the single biggest health risk that older people face on a daily basis. Falls result in broken bones and broken bones land you in a hospital or rehab facility. I hear friends and colleagues say, “I don’t need a walker, I just need to pick up my feet better.” True, but picking up your feet requires total concentration, and it’s usually the incident where you were distracted or not looking ahead that produces the fall. Falling is usually a surprise. No one intends to fall, but you hear many people say, “I can’t believe I fell. I was walking just fine and then boom!”
There are a lot of ways to prevent a fall — getting your eyesight checked; being sure you aren’t taking a medication that causes dizziness; wearing the right kind of shoes; strengthening your leg muscles. Many older people have arthritis and experience knee problems or even knee buckling that produces instability and increases the risk of falling.
After my fall, I took a hard look at my walking style, my shoes, and the options I might have to be sure I didn’t fall again. I thought I was walking pretty well, but I began to notice how strangers around me would offer assistance by opening a door or giving me a chair to sit on. Do I look that decrepit I would think? My hair isn’t even gray yet! The next thing I did was to check out the options for getting more stability– exercise class, a cane perhaps, using a grocery cart to be sure I wasn’t trying to carry too much at any one time, a walking stick, and yes even a walker.
I discovered that there are a number of types of walkers — there is the classic type you see in many retirement or rehab facilities. These are the ones that define old age in the minds of many. They are inexpensive and they work just fine. It helps to get tennis balls for two of the legs or sliders. There are also accessories you can add to the top to carry things around. The Nitro Drive rollator type walkers are what I call “fancy” walkers. They have a seat where you can rest or carry things, smooth moving wheels, and brakes. They do move fast, so if you are slow to take steps, these walkers will easily get away from you. These walkers come in a variety of sizes, so you can find one if you are short or very tall, and they are adjustable.
What have I decided to do? In our apartment I feel no need to have any assistive device. I don’t trip. I have no loose rug hazards. But once I leave the apartment, I am using a grocery cart (usually because I have mail or packages to pick up and I know I can’t carry them safely) or in some cases the fancy walker. The grocery cart makes me look purposeful not decrepit. The fancy walker moves so fast I literally glide over the ground and can stand up much straighter as I walk. Once I leave our community, however, do I need the stability of a walker? It’s a pain to have to put a walker into the car or a Lyft. But how safe is it to go to a grocery store using only a grocery cart for stability? How safe to go to a restaurant without any assistance?
Time will tell. One thing for sure — I am not going to let my pride about looking old put myself at risk for another fall!
In the past 5 years I have gone from using a cane to trekking poles, and finally to a walker. I resisted the walker at first, but now I am grateful for it’s reliability. Not only is falling dangerous, but getting up from a fall is difficult–especially with knee replacements.
That was my journey too. Resisted the idea but it really does feel so much more secure. My pride is not going to cause a fall!!