Nicole Anstett, Registered Physiotherapist

02/11/2026

If I could only focus on 5 habits to prevent falls as I age, it would be these:
1. Balance practice 2–4x/week
Balance isn’t a personality trait. It’s a trainable skill; your brain, inner ear, eyes, and feet working together in real time. If you don’t practice it, you lose it. Simple work like single-leg stands, heel-to-toe walking, or turning your head while standing can dramatically improve stability over time. Small doses, often, beat heroic workouts.

2. Leg strength training weekly
Strong legs are shock absorbers. They help you catch yourself, step over obstacles, and recover when you trip. Training the big movers (glutes, quads, hamstrings, calves) improves power and reaction time, not just “strength.” Think squats-to-a-chair, step-ups, split squats, calf raises. The goal is confidence in the movements you actually use.

3. Vision/hearing checks on schedule
Falls aren’t always a “clumsy” problem, they’re often a sensory problem. Vision affects depth perception and hazard detection. Hearing affects balance systems and spatial awareness more than most people realize. Keeping prescriptions updated and addressing hearing loss early is a surprisingly high-impact fall-prevention move.

4. Walk on varied terrain (safely)
Perfectly flat surfaces don’t prepare you for real life. Sidewalk cracks, curbs, gravel, grass, this is where stability gets tested. Walking on varied terrain trains your ankles, feet, and nervous system to adapt quickly. Start safe: supportive shoes, daylight, familiar routes, and a gradual increase in challenge.

5. Make your home environment safer (lighting, rugs, rails)
Most falls happen at home. The fix is often boring and incredibly effective. Better lighting, removing loose rugs, clearing cluttered walkways, adding grab bars/rails, non-slip mats, and a nightlight can prevent a life-altering injury. This is one of the rare health upgrades that works immediately.

Why these five matter
Fall prevention isn’t about being careful. It’s about being prepared. These habits train the systems that keep you upright: balance, strength, sensory input, adaptability, and environment. Independence is built on boring fundamentals.

02/10/2026

01/13/2026

Chronic headaches can have a significant impact on peoples’ quality of life, and can prevent them from participating in their regular daily activities. Now more than ever, people are turning manual therapy, such as massage therapy, as a way to manage their headaches.

Massage therapy is a great option to help people reduce the frequency and duration of their headaches, and reduce the pain they experience when they have a headache.

01/13/2026

Cardio trains the heart, the engine that keeps you here, in this world, with the people you love. It pushes oxygen through your bloodstream, supports your lungs, lowers blood pressure, and protects you from the diseases that steal years off the calendar. Every walk, every bike ride, every swim is a quiet investment in longevity, a small “yes” to staying alive longer.

Strength is what lets you get up from the floor without help.
It’s what lets you carry groceries from the car, lift a grandchild onto your hip, and push open heavy doors without hesitation.
It’s what determines whether you need a hand or whether you still get to be the one offering it.

After about age 50, muscle mass declines at 1–2% per year if we don’t train it. That’s not just about aesthetics; that loss of muscle is one of the strongest predictors of falls, fractures, disability, and early dependency. Cardiovascular fitness predicts how long you live, but muscle predicts how well you live.

A strong heart might keep you alive into your 80s or 90s, but it's strength that decides whether you can still climb stairs, dress yourself, travel, cook, shower, and live with dignity.

Your body can build strength at any age.
Studies in adults aged 60s, 70s, 80s, and even 90s show that resistance training improves muscle size, balance, bone density, and walking speed, even in nursing home residents. It’s never too late, and the benefits are far larger than most people expect.

Cardio gives you lifespan.
Strength gives you healthspan.

Longevity is the length of your life.
Healthspan is the portion of that life where you’re able to live it fully, independently, and with joy.

A long life without independence isn’t the dream.
A long life where you can still kneel in the garden, carry your own bags, travel without fear, and get down on the floor to play with grandkids that’s the dream.

Walk, bike, swim to feed your heart.
But lift, push, pull, squat to feed your freedom.

Because being alive matters.
But being alive and independent is what makes those extra years worth having.

Cardio keeps you here.
Strength keeps you you.

01/08/2026

12/30/2025

11/02/2025

09/29/2025

Dizziness affects 50% of adults at some time in their lives. Vestibular rehabilitation involves the assessment and treatment of balance disorders, dizziness, and vertigo.

A customized, supervised exercise program developed by a vestibular rehab therapist can improve balance and a sense of equilibrium and have a profound and positive impact on day to day life.

09/27/2025

Sport brings us together and protecting each other’s health keeps us strong. 🧠

If you think a teammate or loved one may have a concussion, encourage them to stop, speak up, and rest.

Recovery is part of the journey, and support makes all the difference. ❤️

Stay safe! https://parachute.ca/en/professional-resource/concussion-collection/canadian-guideline-on-concussion-in-sport/

09/27/2025

👉 The stories you’ll be proud to tell one day won’t come from comfort zones.

They’ll come from the moments you pushed past fear and said yes when it would’ve been easier to say no.

Most people let opportunities slip because they’re scared of failing. But failure fades, while regret sticks forever.

You don’t need to have it all figured out. You just need the courage to take the first step.

Choose boldness over safety.

Give yourself memories to smile about, not regrets to carry.

@ Entrepreneurship Facts