Until I had my ankle fixed, I fell all the time. Walking on a sidewalk deep in thought…BOOM! Down I’d go.  Stepping down a step, going up the stairs, walking the dog, you name it, I’d topple over.   In my CHAMP blog, “She Works Hard for the Money”,  I wrote about how I fell into management, literally! A weak ankle contributed to instability that caused me to frequently fall.

When a person over the age of 65 falls, the consequences can be dire.  A visit to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention website, www.cdc.gov will give you a host of information about this largely preventable public health problem.  As home care clinicians, we know that falls are one of the main causes of visits to the hospital emergency room. I was surprised to learn that there’s a ‘Catch 22’ associated with older adults who have fallen.  The fear of falling leads to reduced mobility and a loss of physical fitness, which ironically can increase the elder’s risk of [You guessed it!] falling.  I shouldn’t have been surprised about this because before my ankle surgery, the fear of falling caused me to constantly look downward as I walked.

Home care clinicians are expert at evaluating an older patient’s home environment and making suggestions to reduce tripping hazards.  Reining in electric cords, getting rid of scatter rugs and adding lighting are just a few interventions we can make.  We know that pets can cause falls in all age groups.  Although asking a senior to give up his or her best friend would be difficult for me.  Programs for building strength and balance have been proven to reduce fall risk.  God Bless Physical Therapists!  The aging process can take its toll on vision.  Cataracts, macular degeneration and even a fixed income can impact visual acuity.  You may be scratching your head about ‘fixed income’.  Updating eyeglasses can be very costly.  Good medication and pain management are extremely important.  Medication side effects and drug interactions causing dizziness and drowsiness contribute greatly to the older patient’s risk for falls. I wonder why I don’t often see alcohol use mentioned as a fall risk among older adults. We should mention alcohol when discussing fall prevention with our older patients.

By the way, it’s been three years since my ankle surgery and I haven’t fallen once!  (Thank You Dr. Ken Leavitt!)

There’s a lot of good information available about fall prevention in the Tools section under the topic ‘physical function’ on the CHAMP website.  I invite you to take a look.

Debra Bertrand, CHAMP Facilitator