1. Health
2. Broken Hip

Balance

• Article - Parkinson's Disease: A Beginner's Guide

  This beginner's guide to Parkinson's disease helps you understand your parent's diagnosis, prognosis, and treatment options.

• Article - Exercise Classes That Improve Your Aging Parents' Strength and Balance -- and Prevent Falls

  Find an exercise class that improves a parent's strength and balance, reducing the risk of falling and preventing hip fractures and other injuries.

• Checklist - 10 Signs That Your Parent Might Have Parkinson's Disease

  10 signs of Parkinson's are explained in detail to help you figure out whether your parent might have Parkinson's disease.

Blog Posts

• Blog Post - "Wings" For Frail Seniors Who Can't Travel On Their Own

  Frail seniors can still travel with a little help. Here's a guide.

• Blog Post - For Older Gals: Bring on the Meat. And the Fish, Tofu, and Eggs.

  Older women need to end plenty of protein to maintain muscle, which helps prevent falls.

• Blog Post - The Plot Thickens: Another Clue in the Alzheimer's-Diabetes Mystery

  New research may help explain the connection between diabetes and Alzheimer's disease. Plus tips if you suspect your parent with type 2 diabetes has Alzheimer's disease.

• Blog Post - Weighty Matters: Diabetes Drugs Can Pack on the Pounds

  Some prescription drugs, it turns out, have an unintended side effect: They lead to weight gain.

• Blog Post - Farewell to Falls

  Seniors can prevent life-altering falls by doing balance training exercises.

• Blog Post - Seniors Hit Hard By Overdraft Charges

  High banking fees are hitting senior citizens hard, but seniors can protect themselves by monitoring their account online.

• Blog Post - Falling: A Deadly Problem Helped by Prevention

  Falls are a deadly problem that can be helped through prevention.

• Blog Post - Falling Down and Feeling Down: What's the Connection?

  Falling down and feeling down linked in elderly, say researchers from Down Under.

• Blog Post - After a Stroke: When Words Fail Us

  Creative ways to communicate with someone who has trouble speaking or understanding language.

• Blog Post - How to Keep Stroke Patients From Taking a Tumble

  New research shows that stroke patients fall almost twice as often as those who haven't had a stroke.

• Blog Post - Downward Dog May Keep Elderly Upright

  Recent research reveals Iyengar yoga improves stability and balance in older women, which could lower their risk of falling.

• Blog Post - New Legislation (and You) Can Help Prevent Seniors From Falling

  The Safety of Seniors Act aims to help prevent falls among the elderly. Here are ways to help reduce the fall risk for your parents.

Questions & Answers

• Question - How do I balance my time with the time I need to give to caring for my mother with Alzheimer's?

  This question has been answered by a Caring.com Expert

• Question - How should my father balance estate planning, tax planning, and Medicaid planning?

  This question has been answered by a Caring.com Expert

• Question - How can you help convince a caregiver to stop focussing their sole attention on just caregiving?

  Unanswered. Can you help?

• Question - What can I cook for my diabetic husband?

  Find tips on how to help your newly diagnosed partner or parent with diabetes eat well.

• Question - Why can't my dad, who has Parkinson's disease, correct his bad posture or avoid falling over?

  This question has been answered by a Caring.com Expert

• Question - Are there any specific exercises out there that are geared towards seniors that will help them to gain better balance?

  This question has been answered by a Community Member

• Question - What can I do to encourage my elderly parent to use a walker or cane?

  Ideas to encourage your parent to use a walker or cane.

• Question - What can be done to treat mouth and vaginal sores due to chemo?

  This question has been answered by two Community Members

• Question - How careful of germs do we need to be when my father's white blood count is low?

  This question has been answered by a Caring.com Expert

• Question - Will a gait belt help my elderly mother walk?

  Will a gait belt help my elderly parent walk and move better? Get expert advice on using a gait belt to assist elderly parents to balance and walk.

• Question - How do we decide between a reverse mortgage for my father or a personal loan from me?

  This question has been answered by a Caring.com Expert

• Question - What can I do to encourage my elderly parent to use a walker or cane?

  Ideas to encourage your parent to use a walker or cane

• Question - What are annuities and do they make sense for someone over 80?

  This question has been answered by a Caring.com Expert

• Question - What are the main side effects of chemotherapy?

  This question has been answered by a Community Member

• Question - Can my parent give durable power of attorney for healthcare to one child, and durable power of attorney for finance to another?

  My brother thinks my parents should give durable power of attorney for healthcare to one sibling and durable power of attorney for finance to another.

• Question - Is one of the side effects of chemo a tendency to fall down?...

  When someone is weak from chemo, is falling a side effect? Do falls from chemo treatment caused by numbness or weakness require medical attention?

• Question - How do I talk to my father about the mess he makes in the bathroom when he urinates?

  This question has been answered by a Community Member

• Question - What's the best way to catch my 91-year-old mother when she falls?

  This question has been answered by a Caring.com Expert and a Community Member

• Question - What if I'm worried about my dad's Alzheimer's but he and my mom aren't?

  This question has been answered by a Caring.com Expert and a Community Member

• Question - How can I encourage my listless mom to bathe?

  Elderly people sometimes refuse to bathe out of modesty or fear of falling. What can you do to help when when a parent refuses to bathe or shower?

• Question - How do I get my father to bath when he refuses to do anything but just wash off?

  This question has been answered by a Community Member

• Question - Do you have any tips for moving my parente out of a nursing home back to a home?

  This question has been answered by a Caring.com Expert

• Question - How can I help boost my mother's mood after her bypass surgery?

  This question has been answered by a Caring.com Expert

• Question - Can I give my father a diuretic to help with the swelling in his feet caused by liver cancer?

  When swollen feet are caused by liver cancer, will a diuretic help relieve the swelling? Or is the cause of the swelling more complicated than that?

• Question - Why would chemo cause stomach pain for my dad, who has stage 4 colon cancer?

  This question has been answered by a Community Member

• Question - How can I help my 82-year-old mother overcome her fear of falling?

  If a parent has a fear of falling, it can actually make things more dangerous. Here's expert advice on how to help a parent overcome fear of falling.

• Question - Is it safe to leave a parent with Alzheimer's home alone?

  This question has been answered by a Caring.com Expert

• Question - Should my father, who has type 2 diabetes, avoid carbohydrates?

  Explains whether it's okay to cut out carbs completely to quickly lower blood sugar following a type 2 diabetes diagnosis.

• Question - How can I help my parent control nausea while he's on chemotherapy?

  This question has been answered by a Caring.com Expert

• Question - How can I convince my mother and sister to step back without hurting their feelings?

  This question has been answered by a Community Member

• Question - What can be done to help my mother's fatigue, caused by her heart failure meds?

  This question has been answered by a Community Member

• Question - How do I help my mother get over or cope with her fear of falling?

  This question has been answered by a Caring.com Expert

• Question - Are there ways to help my vision-impaired parent stay active and safe?

  This question has been answered by a Caring.com Expert

Tips & Reflections

• Tip - help getting in and out of a chair

  My father had trouble with balance and it was difficult...