How to Stay Active and Independent for Life
Staying Active and Independent for Life (SAIL) is a fantastic, evidence-based program to help older adults reduce risk of falling. Carrie Coen, Director of Summit Therapy and Health Services, discusses SAIL.
Featuring:
Carrie Coen, PT, DPT
Carrie Coen is the Director of Summit Therapy and Health Services at Pullman Regional Hospital. She received her Doctorate of Physical Therapy at the University of North Dakota, and is a member of the American Physical Therapy Association. Her therapy interests include: geriatrics, pediatrics, vestibular rehabilitation, and orthopedics. Transcription:
Bill Klaproth (Host): Everyone wants to stay independent and active for life and the SAIL program, that’s S-A-I-L can help you achieve that. So, what is the SAIL program? Well let’s find out with Carrie Coen, Director of Summit Therapy and Health Services at Pullman Regional. So, Carrie, tell us was does SAIL stand for?
Carrie Coen, PT, DPT (Guest): Well SAIL stands for Stay Active and Independent for Life.
Host: Such a simple term. Stay Active and Independent for Life. And something we should all strive for. So, exactly what is the SAIL program?
Carrie: Well the SAIL program is an evidence-based strength, balance and fitness program. And it’s targeted primarily towards community dwelling adults who are typically 65 and older. And one of the hallmarks of the SAIL class that is it’s really suitable for a diverse group of participants regardless of their age, or their gender or even their functional status. So, you don’t have to be somebody who is already really fit in order to take this. You can be really fit, or you can be not so fit. It’s a program that’s been sponsored and endorsed by the State of Washington Department of Health. So, it’s a public domain program and the primary reason that the State of Washington promotes it is that it is part of their falls prevention initiative. In any community, but in the State of Washington, falls are the leading cause of injury related hospitalizations and deaths among older individuals.
So, even like less serious falls can often result in a loss of functional ability, diminished socialization and even a decrease in the quality of life. So, the SAIL program is designed to help older adults by creating a setting in which they can regularly perform these exercises. It improves, their strength, their balance and their fitness and those things are really kind of the single most important activities that adults can do to reduce their chances of falling. And it’s been approved as the highest level of evidence-based program by the Administration on Aging as well. So, it really is a fantastic program and proven to be effective.
Host: So, at what age then do people generally start the SAIL program and what types of exercises and or activities do you do at a SAIL class?
Carrie: We will take participants regardless of their age but the evidence around it has been proven for adults 65 and older. But of course, anyone would benefit from those classes. People who are young and fit typically would find the SAIL class too easy for them. But if you are someone who has suffered an injury, or you’ve had maybe a lifelong disability of some kind; it would certainly be worth checking into. And the kind of exercises that we do would be things like aerobic activity for at least 20 minutes of the 60 minute program. We start out slowly with a warm up, build into some aerobics and then we have some specific examples would be things like leg and arm strengthening exercises, we do a lot of sit to stand activities on the chairs. We have ankle weights, so we do leg kicks. We have some dumb bell arm weights, we do bicep curls, overhead presses, as well as some things like stretching. Stretching the hamstrings, stretching the calves, stretching the shoulders.
And all of the exercises are designed to be done either in a sitting position if you are not able to do the standing or in a standing position or a combination of either. Sometimes we’ll have people who just aren’t feeling so good on a particular day. They might choose to do some of the exercises sitting down rather than standing up.
Host: That’s really good. So, then what are the benefits of participating in SAIL classes? I would imagine that once you teach someone these exercises, they can use them for life to help them stay active. I would imagine that’s one benefit?
Carrie: Well absolutely. And as the name implies, stay active and independent for life. Most of these people will do activities at home as they start to get better but by far the biggest benefit to the program is to prevent falls. If you are a regular participant, building your strength, building your balance and your general fitness; you are going to reduce your chances of falling. Adults already over the age of 65 have a 30% chance of falling just statistically regardless of who you are. So, if you can reduce that, then that’s fantastic. We don’t want people to hurt themselves. But of course, other benefits to exercise in general are things like just increasing your general energy, maintaining healthy weight, feeling more confident because the fear of falling is also something that really impedes people.
Improving walking and then sleeping better. But one of the benefits that we really can’t overlook, or measure is the fun, social aspect of an exercise group. Our friends oftentimes are coming to class with us and even if it’s somebody you don’t know; this group becomes friendly with one another and they do things outside of class. It’s kind of funny. Some of our classes will want to have potlucks every quarter and so we just set it up so that after class, someone brings healthy dish or maybe a not so healthy dish and then we celebrate together like that. This year, one of our classes, well I think three or four of them actually decided to dress up a little bit for Halloween. They couldn’t wear a costume that would get in the way of doing something to make them be at risk for fall, but they had a little contest with funny hats and funny costumes. Which was great.
Host: That’s really fun. So, in addition to reduced falls, think about the extra energy, added confidence, better sleep and then the fun social aspect of it as you were just mentioning. So, then Carrie who is the ideal person or audience for participating in SAIL classes?
Carrie: Well you know ideally it would be for people 65 and older but it doesn’t matter to us if you are someone who really wants to participate. We will take anybody. We’ll take anybody regardless of a pre-existing condition that you have. Typically, we want someone to be a community dwelling adult, but we also have classes that we are currently holding at some of the assisted living facilities here in the community with people that are not independently living. So, I think in terms of an ideal population, anyone who feels like they could benefit from this exercise. We will tailor the program to meet your needs if you have a pre-existing condition, but of course we always want you to make sure to check with your doctor first.
Host: Always good advice. So, how can someone find more information on these SAIL classes available to them?
Carrie: Well probably the best way would be for them to visit our website at www.pullmanregional.org and they can click on our events calendar. All of the SAIL classes are listed there with the different times and dates and locations and all of them are free and open to the public to attend.
Host: Right, I love this. So, Stay Active and Independent for Life, the SAIL program. Carrie, thank you so much for your time and explaining this to us today.
Carrie: Thank you so much. I appreciate the time you’ve given me.
Host: That’s Carrie Coen. And to learn more or to sign up for the SAIL classes, just visit www.pullmanregional.org, that’s www.pullmanregional.org. And if you found this podcast helpful, please share it on your social channels and check out the full podcast library for topics of interest to you. This is The Health Podcast from Pullman Regional. I’m Bill Klaproth. Thanks for listening.
Bill Klaproth (Host): Everyone wants to stay independent and active for life and the SAIL program, that’s S-A-I-L can help you achieve that. So, what is the SAIL program? Well let’s find out with Carrie Coen, Director of Summit Therapy and Health Services at Pullman Regional. So, Carrie, tell us was does SAIL stand for?
Carrie Coen, PT, DPT (Guest): Well SAIL stands for Stay Active and Independent for Life.
Host: Such a simple term. Stay Active and Independent for Life. And something we should all strive for. So, exactly what is the SAIL program?
Carrie: Well the SAIL program is an evidence-based strength, balance and fitness program. And it’s targeted primarily towards community dwelling adults who are typically 65 and older. And one of the hallmarks of the SAIL class that is it’s really suitable for a diverse group of participants regardless of their age, or their gender or even their functional status. So, you don’t have to be somebody who is already really fit in order to take this. You can be really fit, or you can be not so fit. It’s a program that’s been sponsored and endorsed by the State of Washington Department of Health. So, it’s a public domain program and the primary reason that the State of Washington promotes it is that it is part of their falls prevention initiative. In any community, but in the State of Washington, falls are the leading cause of injury related hospitalizations and deaths among older individuals.
So, even like less serious falls can often result in a loss of functional ability, diminished socialization and even a decrease in the quality of life. So, the SAIL program is designed to help older adults by creating a setting in which they can regularly perform these exercises. It improves, their strength, their balance and their fitness and those things are really kind of the single most important activities that adults can do to reduce their chances of falling. And it’s been approved as the highest level of evidence-based program by the Administration on Aging as well. So, it really is a fantastic program and proven to be effective.
Host: So, at what age then do people generally start the SAIL program and what types of exercises and or activities do you do at a SAIL class?
Carrie: We will take participants regardless of their age but the evidence around it has been proven for adults 65 and older. But of course, anyone would benefit from those classes. People who are young and fit typically would find the SAIL class too easy for them. But if you are someone who has suffered an injury, or you’ve had maybe a lifelong disability of some kind; it would certainly be worth checking into. And the kind of exercises that we do would be things like aerobic activity for at least 20 minutes of the 60 minute program. We start out slowly with a warm up, build into some aerobics and then we have some specific examples would be things like leg and arm strengthening exercises, we do a lot of sit to stand activities on the chairs. We have ankle weights, so we do leg kicks. We have some dumb bell arm weights, we do bicep curls, overhead presses, as well as some things like stretching. Stretching the hamstrings, stretching the calves, stretching the shoulders.
And all of the exercises are designed to be done either in a sitting position if you are not able to do the standing or in a standing position or a combination of either. Sometimes we’ll have people who just aren’t feeling so good on a particular day. They might choose to do some of the exercises sitting down rather than standing up.
Host: That’s really good. So, then what are the benefits of participating in SAIL classes? I would imagine that once you teach someone these exercises, they can use them for life to help them stay active. I would imagine that’s one benefit?
Carrie: Well absolutely. And as the name implies, stay active and independent for life. Most of these people will do activities at home as they start to get better but by far the biggest benefit to the program is to prevent falls. If you are a regular participant, building your strength, building your balance and your general fitness; you are going to reduce your chances of falling. Adults already over the age of 65 have a 30% chance of falling just statistically regardless of who you are. So, if you can reduce that, then that’s fantastic. We don’t want people to hurt themselves. But of course, other benefits to exercise in general are things like just increasing your general energy, maintaining healthy weight, feeling more confident because the fear of falling is also something that really impedes people.
Improving walking and then sleeping better. But one of the benefits that we really can’t overlook, or measure is the fun, social aspect of an exercise group. Our friends oftentimes are coming to class with us and even if it’s somebody you don’t know; this group becomes friendly with one another and they do things outside of class. It’s kind of funny. Some of our classes will want to have potlucks every quarter and so we just set it up so that after class, someone brings healthy dish or maybe a not so healthy dish and then we celebrate together like that. This year, one of our classes, well I think three or four of them actually decided to dress up a little bit for Halloween. They couldn’t wear a costume that would get in the way of doing something to make them be at risk for fall, but they had a little contest with funny hats and funny costumes. Which was great.
Host: That’s really fun. So, in addition to reduced falls, think about the extra energy, added confidence, better sleep and then the fun social aspect of it as you were just mentioning. So, then Carrie who is the ideal person or audience for participating in SAIL classes?
Carrie: Well you know ideally it would be for people 65 and older but it doesn’t matter to us if you are someone who really wants to participate. We will take anybody. We’ll take anybody regardless of a pre-existing condition that you have. Typically, we want someone to be a community dwelling adult, but we also have classes that we are currently holding at some of the assisted living facilities here in the community with people that are not independently living. So, I think in terms of an ideal population, anyone who feels like they could benefit from this exercise. We will tailor the program to meet your needs if you have a pre-existing condition, but of course we always want you to make sure to check with your doctor first.
Host: Always good advice. So, how can someone find more information on these SAIL classes available to them?
Carrie: Well probably the best way would be for them to visit our website at www.pullmanregional.org and they can click on our events calendar. All of the SAIL classes are listed there with the different times and dates and locations and all of them are free and open to the public to attend.
Host: Right, I love this. So, Stay Active and Independent for Life, the SAIL program. Carrie, thank you so much for your time and explaining this to us today.
Carrie: Thank you so much. I appreciate the time you’ve given me.
Host: That’s Carrie Coen. And to learn more or to sign up for the SAIL classes, just visit www.pullmanregional.org, that’s www.pullmanregional.org. And if you found this podcast helpful, please share it on your social channels and check out the full podcast library for topics of interest to you. This is The Health Podcast from Pullman Regional. I’m Bill Klaproth. Thanks for listening.