Judson professor works out for healthier seniors
BY DENISE MORAN For Sun-Times Media
Dr. Cathy Headley, center, points out safe ways to move to stand up from the floor using the arms, legs and chairs for support. | CAROL DORSETT ~ FOR SUN-TIMES MEDIA
Article Extras
Famous British author Charles Dickens, who routinely walked 20 miles a day, once admitted that “if I could not walk far and fast, I think I should just explode and perish.”
Elderly people who have fallen and suffered injuries may feel the same.
But those falls and injuries sometimes produce a reclusive fear: it is better to stay at home rather tthan venturing outdoors and possibly hurting themselves again.
Cathy Headley, associate professor and chairperson of the exercise and sport science department at Judson University in Elgin, decided to help seniors get over their fear of falling. She started a program three years ago at the university called Senior Circuit.
Senior Circuit is a student-led class at Judson that specializes in the health, exercise and nutrition fields for older adults. This class implements basic exercises that will increase flexibility, cardiovascular, and muscular strength using different methods. The purpose is to educate, teach new routines, and help increase and maintain physical activity among older adults.
“Lots of research shows that when you fall, you become afraid to do things,” Headley said. “You start staying home and get into a cycle of depression. Community programs such as Senior Circuit give seniors a chance to spend time with their friends. It’s all about getting out of the house.”
Headley said that she has been inspired to help others because of her mother.
“My mother fell one time, broke a hip and had to undergo hip surgery,” Headley said. “It’s very common for people to fail and later die from complications after that kind of surgery. I lost both of my parents in five weeks five years ago. I will never forget them.”
Senior Circuit is held at the Judson Center for Successful Aging, and it has already expanded from two days a week to five days a week. It began from a fall prevention program that won a $1,000 grant from Activate Elgin. Headley is going into her second year as co-coach of Activate Elgin, which tries to engage different interests in the community to promote better health, well-being, and overall quality of life.
“We used the $1,000 grant from Activate Elgin to purchase pedometers so we can track the progress of older adults and inspire them to continue,” Headley said.
Senior Circuit also partnered with the Salvation Army Golden Diners, which provides free lunches to Senior Circuit participants.
“Older adults don’t always eat nutritionally good meals,” Headley said. “Participants enjoy the free, healthy meals and the chance to exercise. We charge $35 a semester for the physical activity, and they can come to the center as often as they like. Somebody is always at the center from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.”
Judson is located next to Willow Lake Estates, a retirement community. In addition to spreading the word about Senior Circuit at Willow Lake, Judson has sent fliers to local churches.
“We have 16 to 20 people coming every day,” Headley said. “We sometimes have 40 participants. Most of them are from the Elgin area.”
Headley said that walking poles, which are typically used for cross country skiing, can be used to help seniors with balance.
“The seniors who used walking poles were more confident and had better posture,” Headley said. “They come to the center and learn from each other.”
Headley credited Stacy Beebe, Julene Ensign, and Becky Stenning of the Exercise & Sports Science team at Judson and the Activate Elgin team as being “strong leaders walking alongside me.”
“It is difficult to get the message across that we believe in health. And the greatest leader of my team is Jesus, who put this on my heart,” she said.
Headley earned a Ph.D. in Leisure Behavior from University of Illinois Urbana. Her dissertation was on “N’Balance,” a community-based fall prevention intervention for older adults. She also had worked in a mental health facility for 14 years before becoming a full-time professor at Judson.
Senior Circuit is a student-led class at Judson that specializes in the health, exercise and nutrition fields for older adults. This class implements basic exercises that will increase flexibility, cardiovascular, and muscular strength using different methods. The purpose is to educate, teach new routines, and help increase and maintain physical activity among older adults.
For further information, call (847) 628-1085 or visit online at www.judsonu.edu/seniorcircuit/.