Sharleen’s story: Nymbl helps build confidence after fall
A moment of distraction left Sharleen Bishop with a fractured wrist and a loss of independence. But the support of ACC helped her recover and she’s now using Nymbl to stay on her feet.
“I couldn’t drive, I couldn’t cut my food up. I felt like a toddler.”
Sharleen Bishop paid the price for a moment of distraction.
On a walk with her daughter last year, the 73-year-old from Manurewa missed a step and came crashing down on her wrist.
The result was a fractured wrist and a loss of independence.
“I didn’t see a step and took a big lunge, I couldn’t recover my balance in time,” she says.
“It was pretty painful. It happened so easily.”
Sharleen’s recovery took 12 months and was a long and frustrating journey. She underwent physiotherapy for several months and found it hard to lose her independence.
“When you have a serious injury, it's very disruptive to your life. It has a big impact on all the people around you as well, they were running around after me,” she says.
“I figured out how to do some things one-handed but other things were either impossible or took twice as long. It was very frustrating being dependent on others for such a long time.”
Sharleen says ACC was great to deal with and played a leading role in her rehabilitation.
“They couldn’t have been more helpful and to have all the costs covered was great. I had months and months of physio on my hand and wrist to get them moving again,” she says.
“I also had home help for a few weeks because there was a lot I couldn’t do, like changing my bed, vacuuming, cleaning the shower and chopping vegetables. So to have that support was invaluable.”
Falls the most common cause of injury
Unfortunately, Sharleen is not alone.
In 2023, ACC accepted over 173,000 new claims for fall-related injuries from adults aged over 65.
The total cost of fall-related injuries for people aged over 65 in 2023 was $345 million to help people recover.
Falls are the most common cause of injury in New Zealand, accounting for 39 per cent of all ACC claims. The most serious injuries from falls are fractures and to the head.
“Falls have a significant impact on a person’s quality of life, especially if it results in a fracture, so we want to do what we can to prevent them from happening in the first place,” says James Whitaker, ACC Injury Prevention Programme Lead.
Falls become more common as we age. Currently, one in three people over 65 injure themselves in a fall, rising to one in two once they reach 80.
By preventing falls, James says people can maintain their independence, lead active lives and stay socially connected.
“We want to dispel the idea that falling over is part of the ageing process. Most falls are preventable.”
‘I use Nymbl religiously’
Sharleen has started using the Nymbl strength and balance app to prevent a fall happening again.
“I use it religiously, this is a great initiative from ACC,” she says.
Nymbl is a training app designed to help older adults test, maintain and improve their balance.
The app was launched in April last year as part of ACC’s injury prevention programme, Live Stronger for Longer, which is focused on preventing falls and fractures.
Nymbl combines simple body movements with easy brain games, like trivia, to challenge both the brain and body. It’s scaled depending on a person’s abilities.
This dual tasking approach is scientifically proven to improve balance faster than just physical forms of exercise alone.
“It makes sense to work on your balance, the strength of your lower body and your mind at the same time,” Sharleen says.
“I can see the improvement and it’s really encouraging – it builds your confidence.”
Sharleen loves trivia games like Wordle and says the brain games on Nymbl appeal to her problem-solving side.
“It’s great to have that little challenge every day, it makes you think,” she says.
“Some of the Nymbl exercises are quite hard, quite challenging. You keep going up a level, like doing a balance exercise while you say the alphabet backwards. Over time you get better at it but it’s a good challenge.”
‘A big improvement in my life’
Sharleen says the best thing about the free app is that it measures your progress on the exercises.
“You get a sense you’re improving but it’s great when you can actually see it,” she says.
“For example, the sit-to-stand exercise is a measure of your lower-body strength. I could only do 11 when I started and now I’m doing 20. And it’s good because it encourages you to do a bit more – it says another two would be good progress.”
Sharleen believes the Nymbl app is a great complement to attending a local strength and balance training class.
“I’m noticing a big improvement in my life. I’m stronger now in the garden and I can get up and down a lot easier, which makes it a lot more enjoyable. I put that down to my work with Nymbl,” she says.
“And it’s great to attend the strength and balance classes because you then get the social side as well, connecting with the local people in your community.
“Caroline (Sherborne) does a marvellous job of running the class, putting a lot of fun and energy into it, and even adding in a bit of Fleetwood Mac and Ed Sheeran for a couple of the exercises. There’s no pressure, you do what you can.”
Sharleen Bishop at her community strength and balance class in Manurewa.
How to access Nymbl
You can download Nymbl at the Google Play or Apple app store.
More information is available on the ‘Live Stronger for Longer’ website.
