Autumn is finally, officially here, so what better time, we thought, than to talk about a common and commonly underestimated health issue: falls.
(See what we did there?)
There are as many reasons a person might fall as there are things to fall over, but if you’re 65 or older, a fall could have serious, life-altering consequences. A full 25% of this age group will fall in a given year. Twenty percent of fallers will wind up with a traumatic brain injury or a broken bone—some 300,000 per year with a broken hip. More than 30,000 will die from a fall.
Clearly, falling down can hurt a lot more than your pride.
So what is most likely to cause falling? The lowest hanging fruit is the everyday trip hazard: uneven flooring, slippery rugs, clutter left on stairs and walkways. Or maybe you’re not wearing the best shoes. Easily addressed.
Are you on medications or do you have obvious medical conditions like a stroke in your past that might make your balance poor? That’s something to consider.
Are your muscles weak? That happens as we get older, you know, and even more so if we don’t use our muscles regularly.
Do you get lightheaded very often? A bunch of different things might cause you to feel dizzy randomly, from inner-ear disorders to dehydration.
How’s your eyesight? Due to vision problems, you might fail to notice dangers in your path or, for example, misjudge how high that step is. Less obviously, hearing problems can also increase your chances of a serious fall.
Or does your blood pressure drop suddenly when you stand up? That is a common cause of serious falls, as is fainting for various reasons. There’s even something called a drop attack, the result of a seizure, a disorder of the brain or heart, and more.
We could go on, but we won’t because the point is this: The reasons and ways you could fall are myriad, and you shouldn’t trust Google to correctly determine why you might have fallen and whether it was a fluke or a reason to worry—and we know you’re doing this because one of the aforementioned studies says fewer than half the people who fall ever mention it to their doctor.
Yet falls are right up there with dementia as one of the most common reasons older folks land in nursing homes.
The World Health Organization considers falls “a major public health problem,” with almost 40 million falls around the globe each year requiring medical care.
“Falls are the leading cause of fatal and nonfatal injuries for older Americans,” says the National Council on Aging. “Falls threaten seniors’ safety and independence, and generate enormous economic and personal costs.”
Everyone has moments of plain ol’ clumsiness, but instead of writing those bumps and tumbles off to a lack of grace, consider if they’re a sign that something deeper might be going on. Hopefully that something is easy—you need some extra sleep tonight, you need to drink some water.
If it’s not, we’re here.