The primary purpose of the Balance and Falls SIG is to provide a forum for the increase of knowledge and quality of Physical Therapy practice in relation to older persons with balance problems and an increased risk for falling.

RESOURCES INCLUDE, BUT ARE NOT LIMITED TO:
    • Programs at Combined Sections Meeting (CSM)
    • Regular articles in GeriNotes
    • Journal Club Discussions
    • Quarterly news postings to the web page
      Newsletters to Members
    • OPEN ACCESS Toolkits to improve clinical management through presentation of resources and existing literature
    • Annual National Falls Prevention Awareness Day Kick Off Calls and Events
    • “Ask the Research Liaison”: Email us with your burning questions and get an evidence-informed answer from the BF SIG Research Liaison
    • Monthly Challenge Mailing List

There are many opportunities for participation, so please consider getting involved! To participate or learn more about current SIG activities and projects, contact the SIG chair at agptbalanceandfallssig@gmail.com or check out available postings on APTA Engage.

SIG LEADERSHIP

  • CHAIR: Heidi Moyer, PT, DPT
  • VICE CHAIR: Haim Nesser, PT, DPT
  • SECRETARY: Beth Castellini, PT
  • NOMINATING COMMITTEE MEMBER: Deborah Constanine, PT
  • CLINICAL LIAISONS: Stefanie Bond, PT, DPT and Heather Timothy, PT, MSPT
  • RESEARCH LIAISON: Jennifer Gindoff, PT, DPT
  • EARLY CAREER PROFESSIONAL LIAISON: Holly Bennett, PT, DPT and Kimberlyn Thomas, PT, DPT
  • COMMUNITY LIAISON: Tammy McHugh, PT, DPT

BF SIG News

Balance and Falls SIG Update – 1st quarter 2023

February 13, 2023

Greetings APTA Geriatrics BF SIG Members and Happy New Year! 

It’s been a whirlwind of a year for us in the BF SIG and we wanted to provide an update as to what 2023 has in store for the BF SIG as a whole! Check out the links to our annual call meeting minutes and recordings. 

  • CSM ANNOUNCEMENTS: The BF SIG is co-sponsoring two sessions at CSM. 
    • Friday, February 24, 8-10 am: Solving the Balance Problem in Medically Complex Patients Across the Life Span
      • Heidi Moyer, PT, DPT (APTA Geriatrics BF SIG Chair)
      • Rachel Hac, PT, DPT (APTA Oncology BF SIG Chair)
      • Debbie Espy, PT, PhD (ANPT BF SIG Chair)
    • Saturday, February 25, 11 am-1 pm: Joining the Fight for Parkinson’s 
      • Haim Nesser, PT, DPT (Vice-Chair)
      • Heather Timothy, PT, MSPT (Clinical Liaison)
      • Heidi Moyer, PT, DPT (Chair) 
    • We will not be hosting an in person meeting at CSM, but we have been invited to attend the APTA Oncology BF SIG meeting at CSM on Friday from 1-2pm in the Hilton Bayfront Indigo DH (Level 2) room. Our GeriSIG leaders will be present, so feel free to come and mingle with us at this meeting! Thank you to Rachel for opening this opportunity up for our members! 
    • STUDENT OPPORTUNITY ALERT: Our Student Liaison, Sarah Roberts, along with the APTA Geriatrics Student taskforce, will be hosting an informal student meet-up on Thursday, February 23rd at 6pm outside of the Sapphire Ballroom AB just prior to the APTA Geriatrics Business Meeting! 
  • National Falls Prevention Awareness Week (September 18-22) 2023 planning is in full swing! 
    • We are in the process of creating a new multi-specialty toolkit to promote balance and falls screening in ALL settings, which will be launched in June. Thanks to Tammy (Community Outreach Liaison) for chairing this effort! 
    • The Kick-Off call for this will occur in June, date TBA later! 
    • The BF SIG hosted journal club will be Tuesday, September 19th! 
  • Our Knowledge Translation Liaison Deborah Constantine will be working with the KT Taskforce this year to bring tangible resources from the Falls CPG being published this year! 
  • Neuro Toolkit Update: Our Early-Career Professional Liaisons, Holly and Kimma, and hard at work in the next phase of the Balance and Falls Toolkit for Older Adults with Neurologic Diagnoses. We will be moving into expert reviewer stages in March April with a hopeful delivery date of the product by July 2023. 
  • Monthly Challenge: Our amazing Clinical Liaison Team (Stef, Heather, and Anne) have a fabulous line-up of content for the new year including two guest writer slots from the Cognitive and Mental Health SIG as well as the Bone Health SIG
  • Ask the Research Liaison is live and active! Do you have a question about Balance and Falls, but no time to do the research? Ask our Research Liaison Jen Gindoff by emailing us at agptbalanceandfallssig@gmail.com
  • GeriNotes: The BF SIG continues to provide a consistent presence in GeriNotes thanks to collaboration with editor Michele Stanley. 
  • Volunteer Opportunities: 
    • PTA Liaison position is currently open! Please reach out to us to learn more about joining our team. 
    • As we draw two of our major projects to a close in June of this year, we are open to new idea and opportunities! Let us know what you want to see next! 

Thanks again for another exciting year of providing you with the content that you need to provide the utmost service to your patients! Reach out to us at agptbalanceandfallssig@gmail.com

The Balance and Falls SIG Team 

Open access documents available from Balance and Falls SIG Tri-Alliance Campaign

September 23, 2022

The APTA Geriatrics BF SIG is proud to announce that we have created a collaborative document sharing all our open access resources to help you better provide balance and falls prevention services in the community, clinic, and beyond. Please feel free to share this with anyone who might be interested.

Access the Tri-alliance Campaign

 

2022 Fall Prevention Awareness Day Kick Off Call Information

July 8, 2022

On June 29, 2022, the APTA Geriatrics BF SIG had their Annual National Falls Prevention Awareness Day Kick Off Call to assist members in beginning to brainstorm and plan their events and efforts for the week of September 18-24. Our Clinical Liaison, Tammy McHugh, served as the creator and master of ceremonies for the event. We were honored to host the following guest speakers for the evening:

  • Cathy Ciolek, APTA Geriatrics President
  • Governors State University DPT Student Speaker Miguel Musngi with Student Panel Members TaShea’ Moore, Daniel Kusper, and Andres Garcia
  • Deb Espy, Academy of Neurologic Physical Therapy BF SIG Chair
  • Eric Galvez, APTA Oncology BF SIG Membership Chair
  • David Taylor, APTA Geriatrics House of Delegates Representative
  • Tammy McHugh, APTA Geriatrics BF SIG Community Outreach Liaison

Top resources that were shared during the call included:

A big thank you to all our speakers and to all those who attended! Did you miss the call? Listen to the call recording here or peruse through the call powerpoint.

BF SIG Events

No Upcoming Events Found

BF SIG MINUTES

Balance and Falls SIG Member Resources

Toolkits

Outcome Measure Toolkit for Geriatric Fall/Balance Assessment

The Balance and Falls Special Interest Group of the APTA Geriatrics developed this toolkit as an updated summary of current outcome measures related to balance and fall risk assessment. It is available, OPEN ACCESS here:

Falls Prevention Awareness Toolkit: A Comprehensive Guide to Professional & Community Engagement, 2nd Edition

The Falls Prevention Awareness Toolkit developed by the Balance and Falls Special Interest Group of the APTA Geriatrics is available, OPEN ACCESS below.

The resources provided within the toolkit are designed to assist clinicians and students in creating and/or improving their community-based falls prevention events by utilizing current evidence and a wide-variety of quality resources.

The Monthly Challenge

Every month, as part of an optional mailing list, we send out an email with a quick summary of a topic related to balance and falls management in older adults. Emails are sent out on the first of each month, and those that join the mailing list are able to access the last 2 years of materials as well. If you wish to join and get this information sent directly to your inbox each month for you to use same day, email us at agptbalanceandfallssig@gmail.com .

 

National Fall Prevention Awareness Day Resources

 
 

How to conduct virtual fall prevention

by Jennifer Nash, APTA-Geri State Advocate for Nevada Click here to Download

VIDEO: WORKING ON BALANCE AND FALL PREVENTION AT HOME, DEVELOPED BY THE NSGA/APTA GERIATRICS TASK FORCE.

From the 2020 BFSIG Falls Prevention Awareness Week Brainstorming Webinar and Guest Presentation on Virtual Balance Assessment from Winston-Salem State University, July 28, 2020

Links of Interest: