Falls in older people
Introduction
Elderly people are more prone than younger people to unpredictable and unexpected falls.
Falls are common in older people and the risk of falling increases with increasing age.
Falls affect a third of those aged 65 years and over rising to over 40% in those aged 80 years and above.
A fall may be the result of a simple “trip” in which case the environment needs to be looked at, in order to reduce hazards such as wet and slippery floors, loose rugs and poor lighting but often in the elderly, a fall may be caused by a combination of several factors. A condition may present itself in an unusual way in an older person [for instance, infection, transient ischaemic attack, heart disease] and the poor general condition of the person may manifest itself in a fall or it may be the result of very poor compensatory mechanisms to maintain balance such as stiff and arthritic joints, weak muscles and slower reflexes.
There are many risk factors associated with falls in older people and a combination of apparently trivial factors may “tip the balance” in an older person, who, as well as manifesting the effects of “normal” ageing may also be frail and/ or have a disease condition such as Parkinson’s Disease, in which gait is already affected (short, shuffling steps and altered centre of gravity). Also, the more risk factors the person has, the higher the risk of falling.
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