It has been estimated that at least one-third of people aged 65 years and over fall one or more times a year<\/a>. In most cases, these falls will not result in a serious injury; however, they can cause the following:<\/p>\n
As we grow older, there are a number of things that may increase our risk of falling. A person who is taking care of an older adult should be aware of the following risk factors:<\/p>\n
In many instances, falls can be prevented. Some of the common risk factors for falls can be easily mitigated or managed to reduce the severity of injuries that may occur.<\/p>\n
The main thing to bear in mind is that if an older adult in your care is feeling unsteady or has a fall, an appointment should be made to discuss this with a health professional. This should be done even if it does not seem to cause an injury, as falls can be an indicator of an underlying health problem.\u00a0<\/p>\n
There are a number of steps that can be taken to avoid falls and injuries:<\/p>\n
Increasing safety in the home will reduce the risk of an older adult having a fall:<\/p>\n
For more ideas on how to make a home safer for an older adult, get in touch with an occupational therapist.<\/p>\n
The following can help reduce the risk of a fall in outdoor areas of the home:<\/p>\n
Did you know that the seated exercise program Ageless Grace<\/a>\u00ae<\/strong> works on helping balance by targeting three areas of the body within the safety of a chair? If you want to find out more about this, and how our courses or\u00a0workshops<\/a>\u00a0may be able to help you as a carer, don\u2019t hesitate to get in touch.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"