Columns

Use a cane? Never! Perish forbid. Everyone will think you’re old! But a cane can really help, and not just for walking. The American Association for the Advancement of Science reports the use of canes and other mobility devices is on the rise among older adults. There may be a relationship between your hearing loss and a balance problem. The “assistive cane” is a walking stick used as a mobility aid for better balance. The white cane is a walking stick for mobility or safety of the blind and visually impaired. Hand rails on both sides of every corridor everywhere for everybody!  

You can cause damage by using a cane incorrectly. Usually hold the cane in the hand opposite, for example, a sore leg. Your elbow will be at 120-degree angle if the cane is the right height for you. Step out with the cane and the sore leg at the same time. The cane lessens pressure on it, resting it and giving it time to heal.  

A new study has reported that one quarter of older Americans use such mobility devices as canes, walkers or wheelchairs, but those who use a cane have a much greater fear of falling. Cane users did not fall more often, but they did report limiting their activities out of fear, suggesting the cane may not offer sufficient support for their needs. A rate higher rate than in past U.S. studies of mobility device use was found. 

More than 7,000 U.S. Medicare beneficiaries constituting a nationally representative sample were interviewed for a National Health and Aging Trends study in 2011. Twenty-four percent of the group reported using one of the devices; 16 % used canes, the most popular device. As reported in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society. Participants most likely to use one or more of the mobility devices tended to be older, female, and nonwhite, with a higher number of health conditions, lower education levels and greater obesity. 

It is possible that some cane users don't feel secure enough with a cane and therefore limit activity due to fear of falling. By design, canes offer a single point of support, compared to a walker with four points of a support. Many older cane users may be more suited to a walker, but they select a cane because it is cheap, easy to learn, and doesn’t make the user look as “old” as a walker might, according to Howe Liu of the University of North Texas Health Science Center in Fort Worth. Many older adults in senior communities purchased or received their devices from a spouse, family members, friends, or the community/facility in which they live. When medical professionals step in, they often help select a mobility device based on the device user’s mental status, medical conditions, physical ability, and living environment.  

Be sure to have the height and your use of a cane (or crutches) checked by an experienced physical therapist or nurse. As for Medicare paying, better check on what durable medical equipment is, and which, if any, durable medical equipment, prosthetic, and orthotic items are covered in Original Medicare. An ergonomically designed handle provides maximum comfort while in use. And tape to the cane your ID.  

Senior travel is becoming big business, with categories like alternatives for gentle walkers and alternatives to tour groups. The North Berkeley Senior Center designates its local trips: light walking, moderate walking, and heavy walking on uneven surfaces. Remember Elderhostel? It’s now Elderhostel Institute Network.  

Road Scholar Travel Services of Boston, Massachusetts offers trips like “Cuba Today: People and Society” through the University of Southern Maine, with “lively interactions at a local senior center.” But there’s a catch: “Due to the nature of this program, listening devices are not available.” Activity Notes include walking up to two miles per day with some walking on uneven cobblestone streets. 

xxxx 

Comedy has entered a new age with Netflix’s Grace and Frankie TV series premiered this month. Netflix is a subscription-based film and television program rental service that offers media to subscribers via Internet streaming and U S mail. Jane Fonda and Lily Tomlin (78 and 76 years old) co-starred in the 1980 comedy, 9 to 5. Since then, they have had some good, some bad roles, like the 2014 film “This Is Where I Leave You,” in which Fonda starred. After several mediocre, not-worthy-of-her-talent films, and knee surgery, Fonda has made a genuine comeback as Grace. Tomlin and she play two frenemies whose husbands (Martin Sheen and Sam Waterston) come out as gay and leave the women for each other.  

Older stars are still cast as crusty grandparents or needy neighbors, according to New York Times reviewer Alessandra Stanley. She writes that people who complain about aging sound old. Fortunately, “Grace and Frankie” is not another Golden Girls (1985-1992) knockoff. Betty White has a leading role in TV’s Hot in Cleveland, but she is not the focus, serving instead as a white-haired foil to middle-aged single women on that show. This premise -- the two women are forced together when their husbands announce they are gay and plan to marry each other — seems more like a conventional sitcom.  

Grace and Frankie find that without important husbands, they vanish. Old friends don’t call and strangers don’t even acknowledge them.  

xxxx 

CALIFORNIA NEWS 

"Language, Culture Prevent Chinese Seniors From Accessing Health Services," by Richard Lee (New America Media, April 14, 2015). 

“Japanese-Americans Could Serve as Model for Aging Population," (California Healthline, May 11, 2015). 

"Calpers' (California Public Employees' Retirement System) Pension Hammer Forces 'Unfair' Bond Ruling by Judge," by Steven Church and Romy Varghese (Bloomberg Business, May 12, 2015). 

"California's End of Life Option Act Moves Forward," by Monica Luhar (KCET Channel 28 [Los Angeles] TV News, May 14, 2015). 

"San Bernardino bankruptcy plan: bondholders hammered while pensions kept whole," by Tim Reid (Reuters, May 14, 2015). 

"Driving initiatives keep seniors safe on the road," by Anna Rumer (Desert News [Palm Springs, California], May 14, 2015). 

"L.A. County slow to probe nursing home complaints, state statistics show," by Abby Sewell (Los Angeles Times, May 16, 2015)