{"id":4062,"date":"2018-10-05T22:23:11","date_gmt":"2018-10-06T02:23:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/aging\/?p=4062"},"modified":"2018-12-04T14:53:49","modified_gmt":"2018-12-04T19:53:49","slug":"otago-online-course-trains-7k","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/aging\/otago-online-course-trains-7k\/","title":{"rendered":"Otago Online Course Trains 7K"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"row  oscitas-bootstrap-container\">\n<div class=\"col-lg- col-md-&#8221;9&#8243; col-xs-&#8220;12&#8221; col-sm-&#8221;12&#8243; oscitas-bootstrap-container\">\n<p>Otago, a highly effective falls prevention program developed at New Zealand\u2019s University of Otago and modified at UNC\u2019s Center for Aging and Health, continues to find fans and prevent falls. More than 7000 physical therapists in 15 countries have taken our <a style=\"background-color: #ffffff\" href=\"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/aging\/cgec\/exercise-program\">Carolina Geriatric Education Center\u2019s (CGEC) online course<\/a>. <!--more--><\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_4063\" class=\"thumbnail wp-caption alignright\" style=\"width: 310px\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-4063\" src=\"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/aging\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/753\/2018\/10\/otago-map-300x161.png\" alt=\"Otago trainees countries map\" width=\"300\" height=\"161\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/aging\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/753\/2018\/10\/otago-map-300x161.png 300w, https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/aging\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/753\/2018\/10\/otago-map-150x80.png 150w, https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/aging\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/753\/2018\/10\/otago-map-768x412.png 768w, https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/aging\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/753\/2018\/10\/otago-map-1024x549.png 1024w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><figcaption class=\"caption wp-caption-text\">7K PT&#8217;s trained in Otago worldwide<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Otago is a series of 17 structured, progressive strength and balance exercises designed to assess balance and strengthen lower extremities. Lower extremity weakness is the primary reason for falls. As people age, they lose the muscle fibers that are responsible for power.<\/p>\n<p>When older adults or their caretakers consider exercise options, often their first plan is simply to walk more, since walking seems a logical and available option. <strong><em>But<\/em><\/strong> <strong><em>for someone with weak legs, hips, knees, and calves, walking without strengthening introduces greater risk of falling.<\/em><\/strong> Otago\u2019s program to develop lower extremity strength and improve balance provides a protective effect against falls and helps prevent injury if a person does fall.<\/p>\n<p>The Otago course is designed for physical therapists to use with people in their home. The exercises, such as calve raises, half squats, heel walking, and side leg lifts, are usually done while standing and start with the patient using a chair, wall, or table for balance. The progression might include adding weights or doing the exercise one-handed or with no hands. Therapists don\u2019t prescribe all 17 exercises, just a subset that best addresses weak areas.<\/p>\n<p>PT&#8217;s see patients in their homes for 4 times over 8 weeks and teach people how to safely continue the exercises on their own. After the initial training, PTs call once a month to check in, with home-based follow up at 6 months and one year. The program does not always require a full year. A fast-progressing patient might improve enough in several months to safely take up other activities like tai chi or walking.<\/p>\n<p>Exercise keeps brains and bodies younger. A program of CDC- and AARP-endorsed Otago, as prescribed by a PT, can help anyone gain strength, prevent falls, and safely exercise.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"col-lg-3 col-md-3 col-xs-12 col-sm-12 oscitas-bootstrap-container\">\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Otago, a highly effective falls prevention program developed at New Zealand\u2019s University of Otago and modified at UNC\u2019s Center for Aging and Health, continues to find fans and prevent falls. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/aging\/otago-online-course-trains-7k\/\"> Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":31116,"featured_media":4063,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[14,13],"class_list":["post-4062","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-falls-prevention","tag-otago","odd"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v26.8 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Otago Online Course Trains 7K | Center for Aging and Health<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/aging\/otago-online-course-trains-7k\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Otago Online Course Trains 7K | Center for Aging and Health\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Otago, a highly effective falls prevention program developed at New Zealand\u2019s University of Otago and modified at UNC\u2019s Center for Aging and Health, continues to find fans and prevent falls. 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