Course Description
Course Description:
Rehabilitation professionals evaluate and treat older adults in a variety of settings. One of the common factors across all settings is that with aging changes are seen in gait and balance. These changes place older adults at an increased risk for falls. It is critical that rehabilitation professionals have an understanding of these changes that occur so that they can properly evaluate and treat these patients, ultimately minimizing fall risk.
This course will discuss fall risk factors and assessment of these factors including the most appropriate standardized assessments to be utilized. It will also explore interventions with emphasis not only on therapeutic exercise but on assistive devices, medications, and environmental modifications as well.
Contact Hours: 3 
Target Audience: 
Instructional Level: Intermediate Accreditation Information:
| State | Discipline | Approval Status | Provider Code | Expiration Date |
|---|
Course Outline:
Hour 1
- Ambulation in Older Adults:
- normal gait
- Changes in gait with aging
- functional ambulation
- evaluation of gait
- specific gait interventions
Hour 2
- Balance and Falls:
- fall risk factors
- Balance and Postural Control
- systems review and tests & measures
Hour 3
- Balance and falls:
- psychosocial
- fear of falling
- interventions
- balance training
- footwear
- environmental modifications
Course Goals & Objectives:
Course Goals:
This course is intended to instruct the professional a thorough understanding of how aging affects gait and balance and ultimately fall risk. As well, all clinicians will then have a thorough understanding of what are the most appropriate assessments and interventions for these individuals so that outcomes can be maximized.
Professional Objectives:
- Identify 3 common gait changes in older adults
- Identify 3 situations or obstacles that are encountered with functional or community ambulation but not ambulation in healthcare settings.
- Identify 2 of the most common standardized assessments used to assess gait in older adults.
- Identify 3 specific interventions that are recommended when treating gait impairments in older adults.
- Identify 3 common fall risk factors in older adults (intrinsic or extrinsic)
- Recognize 2 different strategies that are used when a loss of balance or a disturbance of the base of support has occurred.
- List one system of the body that require thorough assessment in older adults with balance impairments and one commonly used standardized assessment for these individuals.
- Identify one tool that can be used to assess fear of falling in older adults
- List one common fall risk factor in older adults and list two ways in which you could address this risk factor.
- List 2 environmental modifications that will help reduce fall risk in older adults
Disclosures:
SEMINAR-ON-DEMAND
"Seminar-On-Demand" course are streamed on your web browser if the online version if purchased. Our SODs are optimized for the most current versions of Safari, Google Chrome or Mozilla Firefox. A current version of Adobe Flashplayer is also required when viewing on a desktop or laptop computer. All SOD courses are mobile ready.
Contact Hours: 3 contact hours in length (check your state’s approval status in the state specific course catalog for your profession).
Target Audience: Physical Therapist, Physical Therapist Assistant, Occupational Therapist, Occupational Therapist Assistant
Instructional Level: Intermediate
Criteria for Completion: Criteria for Completion: A score of 70% or more is considered passing. Scores of less than 70% indicate a failure to understand the material and the test will need to be taken again until a passing score has been achieved
Personnel Disclosure:
Financial – Suzanne Greenwalt is employed by Belmont University and receives a salary. She receives payment from HomeCEU for the presentation of this course.
Nonfinancial - no relevant nonfinancial relationship exists.
Content Disclosure: This course does not focus solely on any specific product or service
Authors:
Suzanne J. Greenwalt, PT, DPT, CCS, GCS
Suzanne Greenwalt, PT, DPT, CCS, GCS has been a physical therapist since 2002. She is an Instructor in the School of Physical Therapy at Belmont University. She is also a physical therapist with a long term care company. In addition, she is a mentor and educator in one of the APTA’s credentialed Geriatric Residency Programs. She received her GCS in 2011 and is an APTA Certified Clinical Instructor.
Suzanne has been working in geriatrics for most of her career in a variety of settings including skilled nursing facilities, acute care hospitals, and out-patient rehabilitation. She received her Masters degree in Physical Therapy and her Bachelors degree in Exercise Science, both from Saint Louis University. Her interest areas in both patient care and research are geriatrics and cardiopulmonary comorbidities in the geriatric population.
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