She's falling down'. And elderly people know this, and as a consequence they don't want to talk either to their physicians or to their family, about fall events. So that what happens is you have this intense fear of losing your independence, and yet it's a fear that can't be shared with some of the most important people in your support system. We think that's one of the things that makes it so intense and so prevalent. One is that you can suppress the fear, and the other is you can make them more competent on their feet.
Australian work is focused on making people a bit more competent on their feet.
Because it's impossible to do nothing. So at some point the phone's going to ring, the doorbell's going to ring, a messenger is going to come, and you're going to have to get up. And if you have been immobile for long periods of time and not gotten out, you are going to be at increased risk of fall at those moments. On the other hand, if you try to do more than you're physiologically conditioned for, or that it is safe to do because of environmental conditions like snow or ice, etc., you're going to increase your risk for falling. So that every individual has to find for themselves, a balanced point that does not compromise their mobility to the extent that they increase the risk for falling, and other problems, but also doesn't increase their risk for falling.