4 Things You Need to Know about Fall Prevention

Falling can be dangerous for any individual, but it is especially dangerous for seniors and the elderly. As we age, our bones become less and less dense, making them more fragile and susceptible to breaking, even with just a simple slip or tumble that would have left us just with bruises when we were younger. Preventing falls should be the primary concern of any senior or any person who is a caregiver to an elderly person. Here are four things you need to know about fall prevention:

1.      You can ask your doctor about the best way to prevent falls. Not only will your doctor know which of your medications could potentially make you more likely to fall (many medications have dizziness as a side effect), he will also know about your fall history and if you have any conditions (like a heart condition) that might make you more likely to fall.

2.      You need to wear better shoes. Not all shoes are created equally. There is a reason that you often see seniors wearing the same types of shoes—shoes with thick, heavily-treaded soles and plenty of cushioning. These shoes make it much less likely that you will slip on a slick floor or lose your footing on a step, which significantly lowers your chance of falling and breaking something; an injury that is much more serious at fifty, sixty, seventy, and beyond than it is at ten or twenty.

3.      Staying active is actually one of the best ways to prevent a fall or to keep a fall from being severe. It might sound like the safest way to prevent a fall is to sit in your home and avoid going outdoors or walking around. The opposite is actually true. If you stay physically active, not only will you preventing the natural loss of bone density, you will also be improving your coordination and flexibility, which means fewer falls and a much lower chance that the fall will be serious.

4.      You need to make your home fall-proof. This doesn’t mean that you have to move into a padded room, it just means that you should be mindful about hazards in your own home, like cords, rugs, loose floorboards, and boxes. You will be far less likely to fall if there are fewer things in your home to trip over.

We at the Center4PT Services, Inc. can arrange for a Home Safety Assessment, a session to discuss specific Fall Prevention/Recovery Strategies, and or the proper use of adaptive equipment such as walkers and canes in an effort to prevent falls and other injuries in the home.  Call us to schedule a home visit.