ACC app helps patients maintain balance

Have you ever treated an older patient for a fracture and then found them back in your consult room just a few months later? Or worse, found out their mobility has now reduced to such an extent they need constant care in a rest home?

This will be a familiar story to many of you and, unfortunately, it’s likely to become even more common over the coming years.

New Zealand has an aging population – projections suggest we might see people over 85 double in the next 15 years.

This will have major ramifications – both for your practice and the wider health system. We know our strength and balance declines as we age, increasing our risk of suffering serious injury from falling over.

Falls account for nearly 40 per cent of all ACC injury claims and 22 per cent of those are in the over-65 age group.

Every year, one in three people over 65 injure themselves in a fall, rising to one in two once they reach 80.

Many of these falls result in serious injury, such as a hip fracture, hospitalisation or even death.

There is a way to tackle this growing problem, and help your older patients keep their independence.
Next time you treat an older patient, be sure to introduce them to Nymbl. It’s a training app that’s designed to help older adults test, maintain and improve their balance.

Nymbl is fun, easy-to-use and free – it’s fully-funded by ACC.

It uses dual-tasking, combining simple body movements with easy brain games, like trivia, to challenge both the brain and body.

Nymbl can be a great complement to community strength-and-balance classes, allowing your patients to work on their balance from the comfort of their own home. In order to improve their strength and balance, and reduce their risk of falling, they only need to use Nymbl a few times a week and each exercise takes about 10 minutes.

Engaging regularly in strength-and-balance programmes is proven to reduce fall and fracture risk by 20 to 40 per cent, while Nymbl has been shown to increase strength and balance by around 30 per cent.

Penny Wilson knows the difference Nymbl can make.

Ten years ago, she fractured her cheekbone in a nasty fall. History nearly repeated more recently, when she was enjoying a day out with her family and felt herself falling again.

“I had that same sickening feeling – I’m going to hit the ground and I can’t stop,” the 81-year-old says.
Luckily, Penny had been regularly doing her Nymbl exercises.

Near to hitting the ground and without any conscious thought, Penny’s leg came back up under her body. Her upper body arched backwards and, all of a sudden, she was standing upright and walking forwards.

“None of the bystanders could believe it. They all thought I was going to fall flat on my face,” she says.

Penny says the change in outcome could only be attributed to her work with Nymbl.

“They say you need to do the trivia and body movements at the same time because then it’s automatic. That’s exactly what happened – I self-corrected without knowing it.”

ACC Injury Prevention Leader James Whitaker says Nymbl has a crucial role to play in improving the balance of older New Zealanders.

“Most falls are preventable – we want to dispel the idea that falling over is part of the ageing process,” he says.

“Falls can have a significant impact on a person’s quality of life, so we want to do all we can to prevent them from happening in the first place.

“We want to help New Zealanders stay on their feet, enjoying their independence and leading the life they want to live.”

As a health professional, you play a key role in maintaining the wellbeing of older adults. Nymbl can be a valuable tool for you to share with your patients to help them stay independent well into their later years.

It’s a free and easy way to connect your patients at risk of falls with an intervention.
Let them know they can access Nymbl on their smart phone or tablet by searching ‘Nymbl training’ in the Apple App or Google Play stores.