FALLS AND INESTABILITY

Falls are the most common safety problem in older adults. Consider the following statistical facts revealed in the literature:

• one-third to one-half of people older than age 65 are prone to falling.
• any fall is the best predictor of future falls.
• the older a person becomes, the more likely he or she is to suffer serious consequences, such as a hip fracture, from a fall
• falls are a leading death caused injury in people older than age 65.
• approximately one- fourth of older adults who experiences falls will die within a year and another 50% will never return to their previous level of independence.
• the occurrence of falls is higher among those residing in long-term care facilities than among those who live independently

I attach an article that I find very interesting, it is a study on falls and their consequences. In the article they use 3 groups of elders: elderly practicing regular exercise, sedentary elderly and institutionalized elderly.

 

They made a questionnaire which recorded all incidents of falls, near-falls, fear of falling, impact on basic activities of daily living (ADL), and self-perception in health.

 

Exercise can be a good strategy to increase the self-perception of health and to prevent the decline in ADL due to fear of falling.

 

The results obtained in the article shown the differences on number of falls between elderly who did exercises and elderly that did not, but there was no differences on consequences, that attract me.

 

Another specially aspect is that in terms of ADL limitations nearly 25% are ADL limited as result of a fall.

 

On the other hand, the restriction of ADL for fear of falling is considerable, demonstrating the importance of this point in the aging. 

 

In conclusion we can say that the elderly have a high risk of falling, this is reduced if they do exercise, but we have to keep in mind the complications of a fall are the same for any type of elder.

 

I would like to highlight some exercise benefits:

• exercise can help to keep the joints flexible
• maintain muscle mass
• control blood glucose level and weight
• promote a sense of well-being

Consulted bibliography :

Curcio. C; Gomez. J.F; García. A. Caídas y capacidad funcional entre ancianos que realizan y no realizan ejercicio.Colombi médica. 1998.
Hoffman. G. Basic geriatric nursing. 5th edition. Ed. Elsevier. 2012 St. Louis, Missouri.