Preventing falls is vital for seniors
Thousands in Utah hurt each year, report says
Most of the time, the cause is simple — stumbling over the edge of a throw rug or tripping over the dog — according to a report released Wednesday by the Utah Department of Health that says more than one-third of American senior citizens suffer falls each year.
Utah's at odds with national trends. The number of older Utah men who died from falls jumped 134 percent between 1999 and 2004, the study period for the report, while the fall-related deaths of older women rose 16 percent in that time period. Nationally, deaths increased 27 percent for men and 34 percent females.
"People think falls happen to people with age. That's a fallacy," said Kevin Condra, Violence and Injury Prevention Program spokesman in the health department, adding there are precautions people can take. "It shouldn't happen."
The report says charges for emergency department visits by Utah seniors who were injured in falls doubled from $3.5 million in 1999 to $7.1 million in 2004. And the cost for in-patient hospital treatment rose from $28.8 million to $47.1 million.
At HealthSouth Rehabilitation Hospital of Utah in Sandy, director of clinical services William McNutt said fall-related injuries run the gamut. It can be as simple as a strained finger or wrist to a broken hip or shoulder or knee. They've helped rehabilitate patients with severe pelvic injuries or with head trauma from falls, he said.
"People's defense reactions as they get older are slowed down," said McNutt. "When you're younger and you fall, you might be able to twist or land or catch yourself. The elderly are halfway to the ground before they know they're falling."
Head injuries can be life-altering, he said. Someone who falls and hits her head on the counter edge or a corner can be cut and lose blood. The most serious head-injury problems, though, depend on the force with which a head hits the ground or a counter. The brain floats in fluid. If it bounces hard in the skull, both sides of the brain can be damaged even though the individual fell on one side, with results that may be similar to a stroke or hitting your head on the windshield in a car crash. The rehabilitation that's needed depends on the type of injury, but it can include having to reteach someone basics like eating and speaking.
"The force doesn't have to be that great," McNutt says. "It doesn't take much force to come up with a brain injury."
Until about age 80, head injuries are the most serious injuries that result from falls. After age 80, "orthopedic injuries can be as killing," including broken hips.
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