Dual Tasking Can Trip Us Up

By Debbie Gorzycki, July 22, 2024.

Dual-tasking activities are activities that involves doing two things at once. Without realizing it, we dual-task with almost everything we do in our everyday lives, in our daily activities. It's very rare that we will just be walking a straight line without doing anything else. Just think about some of the daily activities that involve dual tasks:

- Walking and talking with someone next to us,

- Walking with a cup of coffee,

- Walking and talking on the cellphone,

- Walking through a store while looking for a product,

- Carrying something such as a cup or plate while walking,

- Walking up or down the stairs carry laundry,

- Cooking dinner or meal prepping while listening to music.

Dual-tasking can lead to a fall because it diverts our mind away from the critical job of balancing our body’s center of mass over our feet. It also diverts our attention from recognizing tripping hazards.

An acquaintance was talking or texting on her phone while walking on a sidewalk in a park. She tripped, perhaps overcorrected, fell backwards, and struck her head on the pavement. A week later, she died from the brain trauma.

Many falls occur when we are not focusing on our movements and stepping. Just as cellphone use when driving they can result in a crash, talking on the cellphone while walking can distract you to a point where you are unable to perceive, recognize and react to hazards and dangers.

For walkers, those dangers can be a raised corner of a sidewalk, a broken section of sidewalk, a small change in elevation. A simple sidewalk crack, broken edge, or sudden change in slope or height between one section and another can cause a trip, fall and injury.

How Can We Do Our Dual-tasking Activities More Safely?

-Stay alert and be aware of your environment inside your home and outside.

-Don't be complacent about your fall safety because you are in your home. Remember, 60% of falls happen inside the home!

-Pay attention to hazards inside the home like going up and down stairs, items in your walkway.

- Slow down. Relax. Enjoy.

- Scan with your eyes rather than looking down at each step. Keep a strong, upright posture.

- Wear the right footwear that supports your entire foot. Avoid wearing slip-in shoes and flip-flops with no backing, back strap or heel support in or out of your home. Poor footwear increases your risk for falls.

-Take a break from your phone. Enjoy your walk. Breathe and enjoy the fresh air.

-Pay attention to sidewalk hazards like broken sidewalk, raised corners, uneven surfaces, wet piles of leaves, acorns, a wet painted or coated surface, mold that you can slip on and fall.

-Try to stay on paved or concrete sidewalks rather than lumpy grassy surfaces.

- Pay attention to your stepping. Try not to shuffle your feet.

- Walk by placing your heel down first gently, then roll your weight into your toes. This will also help you walk with an upright posture, not with a forward lean.

- Use an assistive walking device like a cane, a walking stick or a walker. Don't allow your ego or your pride to get in the way of your safety!

- Use your walking device in your home, too. A paramedic told me that some of the 911 fall calls he responded to happened when the cane or walker was in the corner, not used.

- Stay hydrated. According to an emergency medication technician I spoke to, most people he assisted in 911 fall calls were dehydrated, which led to weakness, lightheadedness, confusion, and a fall.

- Don’t be in a hurry. Running or rushing increases the likelihood of a trip and fall.

- Adjust your walking stride and pace. Reduce your stride by taking shorter steps. Slow down your walking speed, and walk mindfully to adjust to the dual task.

- Work with a physical therapist if you have balance problems and would like to work on exercises that can improve your dual-tasking abilities.