Falls

Falls are perhaps the biggest preventable factor contibuting to disability in later years.

Prevention of falls begins years earlier:

promoting exercise

Falls can result from:

malnutrition
visual impairment: ie macular degneration
medication
- sedation
- postural hypotension (syncope)
- arrhythmia
syncope
- postural hypotension
- arrhythmia
- vasovagal
- aortic stenosis
TIAs
epileptic seizures

arthritis can affect movement and indirectly lead to falls.

back pain

osteoporosis can lead to kyphosis

measure weight height loss (2 cm over 2-3 years suggests evidence of vertebral fractures)

Preventing Falls

It is important to

PT and OT are

Philips' Lifeline