You are not alone

Do you feel unsteady on your feet? Do you worry that your balance isn’t as good as it used to be?

Maybe you have been diagnosed with osteoporosis? Perhaps you have a fear of falling?

Have you already had a slip, trip or fall or perhaps a near-miss?

Falls and worrying about falling affect more people than you may realise – you are not alone.

We can help – you can refer yourself to take part in our free exercise classes run across various venues in East Kent.  These classes are led by an NHS team of qualified Postural Stability Instructors.

Referrals are generally accepted for anyone over the age of 65 (or those younger than 65 years if they have age related falls issues).

To qualify for our classes you should be able to:

• walk 50 metres and stand for at least 2 minutes, with or without a walking aid
• arrange travel to the class venue
• follow instructions
• be motivated to undertake weekly classes for a minimum of 12 weeks and exercise gently in a class setting for 60 minutes.

What we do

Our team is here to give advice and encouragement to help you reduce your risk of falling.

The majority of our participants are independent and able to get around but are starting to feel unsteady at times. Every participant is encouraged to go at their own pace.

Each person is assessed before starting the course to ensure that any potential risks can be considered and acted upon. You must be medically fit to attend the group, or have the consent of your GP to exercise.

These classes are specifically for those who do not require 1 to 1 treatment, however we can sign-post you to other services, with your consent, if we feel that further falls prevention input would be beneficial.

What happens during the course?

The course consists of tailored group exercises designed to reduce the risk of falling. The participant is encouraged to go at their own pace. Each person is assessed for their level of falls risk before starting the course to ensure that all possible risk can be considered and acted upon.

During the course we cover topics such as:

• how to cope if you have a fall
• how to get up following a fall
• footwear and foot care
• medication
• further information on resources available in the community.

If you think you might benefit from this service, or if you know of someone that you feel may benefit, then please pick up the phone and call the number on the back of this leaflet under the ‘contact us’ section.

Monitoring your progress

At the beginning of the course, and at various points along the way, we monitor your progress to show you, and us, just how much you have progressed.

At every stage of the course a postural stability instructor will monitor and adjust your routine as necessary.