CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. (WVIR) – At InnoVage’s PACE Center, Fallapalooza is all about giving seniors tools to prevent falls and stay independent.
“There’s no place like home,” said InnoVage Physical Therapist Gail Quandt.
For older adults, those words mean staying safe, healthy, and independent. But a major risk to that independence is falling.
“One in four adults fall every year and falling is the most detrimental thing that can happen to this population,” said Randall Starck, another InnovAge physical therapist.
Staff work with participants in physical therapy sessions, helping them adapt routines at home so they can keep doing the things they love.
“You have a tendency of forgetting different things of not how to do but to do it safely,” participant Sally Arrington said.
The program turns fall prevention into something engaging, with games, skits, and group exercise.
“I just love the stretching, it helps my body so much, the muscles and stuff it relaxes it,” says Arrington.
The exercises may be simple, but the impact can be life changing.
“At this age a lot of people feel like ok this is it, this is how I’m going to be the rest of my life, and I didn’t want to get to that point, that’s one of the reasons when my daughter mentioned PACE, I was ready and willing cause I like to keep going,” says Arrington.
InnoVage says Fallapalooza is just a reminder of what they focus on year-round, helping seniors keep their independence.
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