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by: Dr. A. R. Scopelliti
Pretty much everyone knows at least one person who has fallen. The fall may have
been purely accidental, such as a slip and fall, or the fall may have been
related to dizziness. More than one in three people age 65 years or older fall
each year. The risk of falling and thus fall-related injuries rises
proportionally with age. Each year, more than 1.6 million older persons go to US
emergency departments for fall-related injuries. Among older adults, falls are
the number one cause of fractures, hospital admissions for trauma, and
accidental deaths. Fractures caused by falls can lead to hospital stays and
oftentimes to long term disability. With this comes loss of independence. Most
often, fall-related broken bones are at the arm, hand, ankle, spine, pelvis or
hip. Hip fractures are amongst the most serious type of fall injury. They are a
leading cause of loss of independence, particularly in the elderly. Only 50% of
the elderly hospitalized for a broken hip return home or are capable of living
on their own after the injury. There is high morbidity associated with pelvic
fractures, mostly from complications.
Most people develop a fear of falling which increase with age. This can become
even more overwhelming for those with a previous fall. As such, many will avoid
activities of daily living such as walking, shopping, or taking part in social
activities.
Many individuals have deceived themselves into thinking that they are not at
risk of fall simply because they have never fallen, or because they do not feel
imbalanced. This could not be further from the truth. You see, the problem with
risk of fall is that by the time that you can tell that you have a problem; the
problem has already gotten severe. It is for this reason that the hospital
administration mandated fall risk analysis in 2004. My office checks dozens of
patients weekly for risk of fall. Most know they have a problem going into the
test as that is why they are in my office in the first place. Many others
however feel confident that they will score high and are surprised when they do
not.
If you are worried about falling, our office offers a simple 20 second test to
assess your overall stability, and thus your risk of fall. The test is accurate
and currently the standard used to evaluate fall risk. My office offers this
testing gratis as a community service. We will also send a copy of the report
back to your family physician, so that they know both that you have been tested
and whether or not you are high risk. Those who are high risk will be accepted
as patients and treated appropriately. Of those treated, most will have reduced
their risk to normal; the remainder will have improved by at least one or two
categories.
Because of the human aging process, changes occur around the sixth decade that
lead to diminished balance ability and thus an increased risk of fall. These
detrimental changes can be easily fixed with some simple exercises. Since most
people don’t ever get checked, they don’t ever fix these detrimental changes and
fall risk just continues to rise with age.
Even though detrimental changes occur as an inevitable part of human aging,
falls are not an inevitable part of human aging. Getting rid of your risk of
falling, as well as your fear of falling can help you to stay active, maintain
your physical health, and prevent future falls. Call our office today for more
information on falls, fall risk screening, or imbalance/dizziness problems in
general. More information can be found on the main pages of my website, linked
below.
Seniors' Needs
Are Similar To Younger Adults In Many Ways But Considerably Different In Others
Seniors have the same needs everyone else has.
They need food, shelter, some secure income, friends, something to keep them
entertained, and good medical care.
But it is also true that seniors may have other needs like handicapped
accessibility at home, help with house keeping and shopping, or even skilled
nursing and medical care.
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About the Author:
Dr. Scopelliti is board certified in Neurology and Vestibular Rehabilitation. He sees patients with vertigo, dizziness, imbalance, presyncope, dystonia, ADD ADHD, coma, neurologic, behavioral and cognitive disorders. He is an author/ lecturer of postdoctoral neurology. Find a wealth of information at Jersey Shore Regional Center for Vertigo, Dizziness, Dystonia and ADD ADHD. Visit Dr. Scopelliti’s Guestbook to see what patients say.
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