Retirees receive JUDO lessons to improve their balance and learn to fall safely
Pensioners will receive judo lessons to improve their balance and teach them how to fall safely to reduce injuries and hospital admissions.
Coaches from sports organization British Judo will discuss 18 different judo techniques adapted for older Britons at risk of injury.
The exercises and movements are aimed at increasing strength and balance, reducing the fear of falling and minimizing injuries resulting from a fall.
The experts also show how to easily get up after a fall, as part of the national Finding Your Feet programme.
According to Age UK, there are around 210,000 fall-related hospital admissions for people over 65 in England every year.
Coaches from sports organization British Judo will discuss 18 different judo techniques adapted for older Britons at risk of injury
One in three people over 65 and half of people over 80 will fall at least once a year, with fragility fractures estimated to cost the UK £4.4 billion annually.
Separate figures show that falls are the main reason older people are taken to A&E, with unaddressed fall risks in homes costing the NHS in England an estimated £435 million.
The techniques taught include yoko ukemi, a side fall that teaches the three principles of falling: protecting the head, creating a large surface area, and timing and rolling.
Other important techniques include learning how to tuck the chin when falling back and how to fall forward without using your hands.
A series of ‘train the trainer’ sessions have now started, with judo coaches preparing to give lessons to the general public from the second half of this year.
Dr. Katrina McDonald, judo coach and senior lecturer in sport and exercise science at Anglia Ruskin University, helped write the Finding Your Feet program for British judo.
She said: ‘There is a vicious cycle associated with falls that the Finding Your Feet program aims to break.
‘When someone falls they fear it will happen again so they limit their activity, but this in turn weakens their muscles and balance which over time can increase the risk of another fall.
‘An important way to reduce the fear of falling is to give older people – and the wider public – the tools and knowledge to manage falls in a way that reduces the risk of injury and, in turn, increases their self-confidence to fall. can become more active.
‘Although the program is still in its early stages, it has great potential to make a meaningful difference, not just for older adults, but for society as a whole, and I look forward to seeing it gain momentum come.’
Professor Mike Callan, from the University of Hertfordshire and member of the International Judo Federation Scientific Committee, is leading the global introduction of safer falls for older adults through judo.
He said: ‘Judo coaches have valuable skills because they understand the key principles of safe falling.
‘By teaching these techniques to the elderly, judo can make an important contribution to a specific social problem.’
Nick Shepherd, Head of Club Support at British Judo and one of the teachers delivering the ‘train the trainer’ sessions, said: ‘The Finding Your Feet program embodies what judo is all about – it is a sport for anyone who strives to make a positive impact on people’s daily lives.
‘Although the sessions have been adapted to increase the confidence of older people who have fallen, we would encourage anyone who is afraid of falling to register their interest with us for one of the sessions later this year.’