Why do older people fall?
This is actually not a question I am often asked. Instead, people usually want to know things like “How do I keep my mother from falling?” or “What should I do? My grandfather’s been falling.”
In this post, I’ll explain
- How understanding just why older people fall can help you keep a loved one safer;
- Why personalized fall prevention works better than relying on general fall prevention tips;
- The mental framework I use to think about why an older person might fall, and how you can use this to avoid falls.
The benefits of understanding why older people fall
Most people know that falls are dangerous for older adults, because they can easily cause a life-changing injury, such as a broken hip. Fear of falling can also seriously affect an aging adult’s quality of life, and can keep a person from being active.
So, many caregivers are interested in fall prevention. And the good news is that although it’s not possible to prevent all falls, it almost always IS possible to take actions that will reduce your loved one’s chance of a bad fall.
But how, exactly, should you go about reducing fall risk?
Now, you can — and should — try to implement the general tips that are often listed on a fall prevention resource: exercise, medication review with the doctor, vision checks, and home safety reviews.
But if you really want to help a loved one avoid falls, I recommend you learn to better understand why he or she might fall.
Why? Because by understanding why an older person falls, you’ll then be able to:
- Identify which fall prevention strategies are most likely to help the person you worry about.
- Recognize risky situations, and take steps to avoid them.
- Know which medical conditions — and/or medications — to ask the doctors to look into.
- Understand what may have brought on a specific fall, which can help you avoid future falls.
In other words, learning why older people fall means that you’ll be able to understand why YOUR older loved one is likely to fall. [Read more…] about Why Older People Fall
