Don’t Let a Fall Get You Down

Household Maintenance

Sharing Experiences

Has anyone had any falls that occurred while doing household maintenance tasks?

In this session we’ll…

• Look at ways that you can increase your ability to keep your home maintained after you’ve had a fall,

• Apply the “Person, Occupation, Environment” problem solving strategy to look at ways to keep doing the tasks that you need to do and be safe.

The Canadian Model of Occupational Performance

Person

Occupation

Environment

Self Care

Productivity

Leisure

Psycho-Social Cognitive

Physical

Physical

Social Cultural

Institutional

Reference: Townsend, E (ed), Enabling Occupation: An Occupational Therapy Perspective, Canadian Association of Occupational Therapists, Ottawa, ON, 2002

HousecleaningPerson • Improve standing balance and strength through participation in a regular exercise program.• Stretch before you begin.• Be sure you have eaten so that you have energy for the task and so that your blood sugar is

stable.• Wear good supportive shoes. Avoid wearing long clothing like a robe or pants that are too long

that might cause you to trip.

Environment • Use cleaning tools with long handles such as a tub scrubber, a dustpan, a floor duster with a

disposable cloth, or a duster with a long handle to reach the baseboards and cobwebs at the ceiling. Avoid bending and over-reaching.

• Use a light weight vacuum. Consider keeping a vacuum upstairs and downstairs so that you will not have to carry it on the stairs; or install a central vacuum.

• Keep your environment simple. Clear the surfaces of excess ornaments. Consider displaying fewer items by rotating them, maybe by season.

Occupation • Ask family members to help or hire a cleaner to do the difficult tasks.• Plan what you are going to try to accomplish over the week and then break the activities down

into daily activities. Be realistic about how much you can do at one time. You are more likely to fall if you are overtired.

• Be realistic about your standards. Try to be easy on yourself. Some tasks may be done less frequently. Some tasks may not need to be done at all. (e.g. ironing bed linens)

• Ask friends to get occasionally needed items at the store for you.

Clearing walkways

Person• Improve balance, strength and standing balance through participation in a regular exercise

program. • Dress properly for going outside. Wear comfortable, stable footwear with non-skid soles.

Environment• Keep a container of ice melt or sand inside the door to prevent slipping on the ice. • Place a can with sand or non-clumping kitty litter at your front door so that you can spread it

on the stairs, walkway and driveway • Have sturdy, easy to grip railings applied on both sides of the stairs and walkway.• Use lightweight equipment such as rakes and shovels. There are tools that hold leaf bags

open so that they are easier to fill, or hold them upright so that you don’t have to bend• If you are going to do your own snow shovelling and raking, a lightweight snow blower or leaf

blower might be a good investment.

Occupation• Avoid going out on slippery days.• Place a can with sand or non-clumping kitty litter near the driveway, the steps and the

sidewalk to increase traction on slippery surfaces. • Hire a person to clear snow and salt or rake leaves.

Washing Outside Windows

Person • Improve standing balance through participation in a regular exercise program.• Discuss any medications with your doctor or pharmacist to determine if they might be affecting

your balance. If so, ask whether there are other alternatives.• Make sure that you have eaten appropriately. If you are diabetic, be sure that your blood sugar

levels are well controlled.

Environment • Consider installing new window systems that can be opened into the room for easy cleaning. • If you must do it yourself, use proper equipment (a sturdy ladder) and have someone with you to

steady the ladder.

Occupation • Use a window cleaning product that attaches to your hose.

• Use a magnetic window cleaner, which allows you to clean the inside of the window while a magnet holds a window cleaning pad outside the window and moves it along with your movements.

• Wash them more often so they do not get as dirty; clean one room a week.• Ask a family member or friend for assistance, or if possible hire someone.

Cleaning Eaves

Person • Improve standing balance through participation in a regular exercise program.

• Discuss any medications with your doctor or pharmacist to determine if they might be affecting your balance. If so, ask whether there are other alternatives.

• Make sure that you have eaten appropriately. If you are diabetic, be sure that your blood sugar levels are well controlled.

Environment • Have an eave covering installed to keep debris out of the eaves

• Have the tree branches close to your home clipped so that the leaves don’t fall into the eaves

Occupation

• If you must use a ladder, use a sturdy ladder and have someone with you to hold the ladder for you. Some ladders have a broader base to help with stability.

• Ask a family member or friend for assistance, or if possible hire someone.

Gardening

Person • Improve strength, flexibility and standing balance through participation in a regular exercise program.• Stretch before you begin.• Discuss any medications with your doctor or pharmacist to determine if they might be affecting your balance. If so, ask whether there are other alternatives.• Make sure that you have eaten appropriately. If you are diabetic, be sure that your blood sugar levels are well controlled.

Environment • Use gardening equipment with large handles• Use low gardening stools that allow you to work at low levels without straining your back or legs.• Consider putting in raised flower beds and using planters.

Occupation • Position yourself so that you are not over-reaching. When working to the side, turn your feet rather than twisting your body.• Join a community gardening project that allows you to work with other people. Schedule an appointment at a local garden centre so that there will be staff to help you select and carry bedding plants and tools. • Consider asking a friend to join you in your gardening. You can share the work, and make it a social experience as well.