http://marknutting.com/blog/fall-prevention/ Solutions From Mark Nutting Thu, 01 Dec 2011 16:21:56 -0500 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.3 hourly 1 http://marknutting.com/blog/fall-prevention/#comment-1200 Hal Cohen Sun, 15 Mar 2009 23:44:31 +0000 http://marknutting.com/blog/?p=81#comment-1200 As always, well done Mark. The caveat though is that some people, especially those with neuropathy ( diabetics are at risk for this ) and stroke suffer from significant and RELATIVELY permanent ( though, the brain is more plastic then first envisioned at any age, thus improvement is indeed the goal ) decreased proprioception. Meds can improve neuropathy, but rarely normalize it. Gait training helps people cope with their deficiency. Normal aging may produce habits that can definitely be helped with balance, strength and neuromuscular training programs, but if there is a relatively permanent damage, then these coping ( cheating mechanisms ) may be neccessary to compensate for the proprioceptive loss. The key is to train these more severely impaired people, see what can be improved upon, and then more effectively teach them to cheat when neccessary. As always, well done Mark. The caveat though is that some people, especially those with neuropathy ( diabetics are at risk for this ) and stroke suffer from significant and RELATIVELY permanent ( though, the brain is more plastic then first envisioned at any age, thus improvement is indeed the goal ) decreased proprioception. Meds can improve neuropathy, but rarely normalize it. Gait training helps people cope with their deficiency. Normal aging may produce habits that can definitely be helped with balance, strength and neuromuscular training programs, but if there is a relatively permanent damage, then these coping ( cheating mechanisms ) may be neccessary to compensate for the proprioceptive loss. The key is to train these more severely impaired people, see what can be improved upon, and then more effectively teach them to cheat when neccessary.

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