I know what you are thinking, “Oh my gosh! What’s wrong with socks?” It’s not socks in general; it’s wearing socks without shoes. If you exercise in my classes (either in the gym or virtually) you know I’m always saying “Put on your shoes!”.
Now that we all are spending more time at home, it’s more than likely you kick off those shoes and walk around your house in socks. I’d rather have you go barefoot than wear just socks. In the short video below, you’ll hear me talk about a gentleman that broke his hip during a research study because he was doing Tai Chi in only socks. This is a common mistake people make!
With PD, people tend to bring their feet closer together. This causes them to be at higher risk of stepping on their own socks, or just slipping and falling.
A study from the Musculoskeletal Research Center at the Institute for Aging Research found that nearly 52 percent of the participants who reported a fall were either barefoot, wearing socks without shoes, or wearing slippers at the time of their fall.
These people also reported more serious injuries including fractures, sprains, dislocations, and pulled or torn muscles, ligaments, or tendons, as a result of their fall.
“Our findings show that older people (over 65 years old) going barefoot, wearing only socks, or wearing slippers may be at considerably increased risk of falls in their homes,” says senior author Marian T. Hannan, D.Sc., M.P.H., co-director of the study. “Therefore, people should wear shoes at home whenever possible to minimize their risk of falling.”
Please note, the people in this study did not have PD. Parkinson’s makes you much more likely to fall if you wear just socks.
Another danger I witnessed was when a patient dropped a heavy dumbbell on another student’s foot in a cardiac rehab class years ago. The student had tennis shoes on but still had serious injuries as a result.
Moral of the story? Please wear your shoes!
Thank you,
💜 Coach Kimberly
Resources:
Hebrew SeniorLife Institute for Aging Research. “Going barefoot in home may contribute to elderly falls.” ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 23 June 2010. <www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/06/100623085516.htm
Footwear and Falls in the Home Among Older Individuals in the MOBILIZE Boston Study
Jennifer L. Kelsey, Ph.D.,1 Elizabeth Procter-Gray, Ph.D., M.P.H.,1 Uyen-Sa D. T. Nguyen, D.Sc., M.P.H.,2,3 Wenjun Li, Ph.D.,1 Douglas P. Kiel, M.D., M.P.H.,2,3 and Marian T. Hannan, D.Sc., M.P.H.2