Can pleasant smells help fight the fall epidemic?
It was shown that lavender aromatherapy may reduce falls in elderly nursing home residents (J Am Geriatr Soc. 2012 Jun;60(6):1005-11). The authors suggested that this was most likely due to lavender decreasing anxiety in these patients. We at Steady Strides Fall Prevention and Stroke Rehabilitation Medical Institute believe that stimulating the “emotional” part of the brain at large can help improve brain’s ability to adopt and learn, and olfactory stimulation is just another approach to this. In our clinic we utilize dance, colors, music and visual imagery to help our patient reduce risk of falls and had been seeing wonderful results.