Fall Prevention
Every year, one in three older adults will experience a fall.
And the results can be devastating, including broken hips, head injuries and even death. According to Statistics Canada*, falls are the leading cause of injury at home. About 63 percent of falls are by seniors. More than half of the falls occurred while people were simply walking or doing household chores. Peak fall times tend to be between 6 a.m. and noon or in early evening. For many, what started as a typical day may have resulted in severe injuries or a hospitalization. In some cases, a bad fall can dramatically affect lifestyle and significantly alter your ‘wish list’ plans of where you will be living in your senior years.
Being able to live in your home, as a senior, is high on most of our wish lists. But just because it is your home, and possibly even a place where you’ve lived for years, doesn’t mean you are safe from injury. Sometimes you can become complacent where you’re most comfortable. And then there are the vulnerabilities that come with age that make us more prone to having an injury occur.
Falls can be a result of a number of things including natural aging, lack of planning or complacency.
With aging, falls may occur due to:
- decreased bone and muscle strength
- reduced vision and hearing
- poor balance or gait problems
- medical conditions that can cause fatigue, dizziness, weakness, impaired balance or mobility problems
- chronic foot problems
Depending on the severity of injuries received in a fall, you may have to visit your family care provider or receive additional health care services from a chiropractor or physiotherapist. In serious cases, long-term assistance may be necessary.
There are many things that we can do in and around our homes to decrease the likelihood of falls and make the environment safer for everyone. A falls prevention audit from Bayshore can help you and your loved one reduce the risk of falls at home, making staying at home safer.
The fall prevention audit includes:
- Observational visit in the home to ensure any hazards are identified
- Development of a plan for removing identified hazards
- Medication review to ensure side-effects that can lead to dizziness, weakness or falls are managed accordingly
- Activation program, focusing on strength training and balance enhancement
Our specially-trained clinical team provides the following services:
- Assessing each patient’s risk of experiencing a fall using the Morse Falls Scale
- Developing a customized care plan that works at dramatically reducing the risk of future falls including:
– Addressing environmental risks in the home
– Developing fall prevention strategies for patients
– Teaching patients exercises to strengthen their balance - Working closely with the patient’s home care provider to monitor and evaluate the patient’s progress
There are many things that we can do in and around our homes to decrease the likelihood of falls and make the environment safer for everyone.
Download Healthy Steps, our guide to fall prevention and home safety to help you live independently for as long as possible. It’s filled with practical tips designed to help prevent falls and injuries.
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