A fall can change everything.
Not a profound statement. Of course it’s true. Broken bones are no picnic, especially for elders who heal slower and have multiple medical issues.
But have you considered this:
- Falls can trigger chronic pain which will change the quality of a person’s life.
- Head injuries and all their implications as a result of a fall can be devastating. Some elders never recover from traumatic brain injuries.
- Decreased mobility as a result of falls can shrink an elder’s world and lead to less quality of life.
- Decreased mobility also affects every system in our bodies. We need to move, and if we don’t move enough, it affects bones, circulation–everything.
- Obesity can result from decreased mobility, and that brings a whole other set of problems.
- Fear of falling creates anxiety which is immobilizing.
- Joint stiffness and weakness after even a minor fall can lead to less mobility.
- Falls lead to painful bruising, also decreasing mobility, and possible blood clots.
- Most obviously, broken bones as a result of falls are painful and take months to recover from, further reducing mobility.
This month, we are going to look at falls–the effects, how to prevent them, and a sensible 
approach to fall prevention which doesn’t involve bubble wrap, but a philosophy called calculated risk.
When I worked in long-term care, in spite of our best efforts, falls were a daily occurrence. Often several times a day. I learned to keep someone who had fallen as comfortable as possible on the floor, but never to move them without a nurse first examining them. If the person hit their head, or if no one witnessed the fall, the medical team started a 24-hour head injury routine. Falls were treated seriously, no matter how often they occurred.
But why so many? Part of the problem was that people with dementia don’t remember to use their walkers or canes, or even that they can no longer walk. We also had husbands with dementia trying to help their wives, because that’s what they’ve always done. Other elders without dementia had problems like reduced vision or other medical issues which caused them to fall.
When I was in my early 50s, I slipped off a curb in downtown Toronto while going to visit my husband in the hospital. I didn’t fall, but my ankle hurt. I hobbled around for the next few weeks, but in my chaotic life with a dying husband, this barely reached my radar. A few weeks later, after he died, I visited the doctor about something else and mentioned to her that my ankle still hurt. She sent me for an x-ray, and looked incredulous as she explained to me that I’d been walking around with a broken ankle for two weeks! I healed with minimal intervention because I was young-ish and healthy. For an elder, that kind of injury would be devastating.
Falls are a big deal. I’m sure you knew that, although you may not have realized all the implications. Maintaining mobility safely is important to every part of the elder’s body.
Now, I’m going for a walk!