Prevention of fall injuries in adults
In the United States alone, one out of three older adults fall each year, or one every 20 minutes. As a result, falling is the single biggest cause of traumatic brain injuries, fatal and non-fatal injuries in older adults. What we often don’t know is that a little bit of conscious effort goes a long way in reducing this number.
What you can do for prevention of fall injuries in adults
Exercise
As we get older, our bodies get weaker and lose certain abilities and coordination. This is one of the biggest factors leading to a high number of fall injuries. Exercises that focus on lower body strength, balance, and posture help in a big way. You don’t have to invest in a gym membership or in installing exercising machines; regular walks in the park would be more than enough for an older adult to retain his or her lower body strength and ability to carry his or her body weight without problems.
Eye checks
Falling due to weak vision is surprisingly common among older people. The fact is that even though some people complain more about mundane things as they get older, they often do not share their health problems or conditions. Regular eye checks and taking corrective measures in case of problems would go a long way in prevention of fall injuries in adults. Remember that an inexpensive pair of glasses may be all that is needed to prevent fall injuries and expensive hospitalizations.
General body health
The regular check-up will help in noticing the presence of risks and preventing fall injuries. Do not depend entirely on the doctor, look for signs like difficulty getting up from a couch, holding onto furniture or the wall while walking, or reluctance to visit some parts of the house or climb the stairs. If you see any of these signs, you’d be safe to consider that your loved one is having a high risk of fall injuries.
Home safety
Consider if anything in your house poses a possibility of causing a fall, e.g, something that can be tripped over, an awkward bend in the stairs, and take necessary corrective measures. You can also have additional safety measures in place, like fixing grab rails and grab bars, or replacing the bathroom tiles with non-slip products. One thing that often shows to be the cause of fall injuries in adults is poor or inadequate lighting combined with weak vision. The bottom line here is – make your home a safe place.
Medication
If you or anyone in your home is on medication, always take special care to understand their possible side-effects. There are many drugs that cause drowsiness or muscle weakness as side-effects. Many people, especially older adults, are not very good at remembering which medication to take when, and may need careful supervision of family members. For example, a particular drug may be prescribed
to be taken at bedtime because of the side-effects, and if taken at the wrong time, may greatly impair normal body functions.
What you must have realized after reading the ways for prevention of fall injuries in adults is that there is nothing difficult to do or no expensive devices to buy; as we have said before, a little bit of conscious effort is all that is needed to protect your loved ones
or yourself from fall injuries.