Symptoms of falls in the elderly

A fall is a sudden and unexpected fall, which is very likely to happen at any age, especially among the elderly. There are relatively more female patients. Generally, women rarely move when they are old, their balance ability is impaired, and their muscle strength becomes weak, which can easily lead to falls. Let's take a look at the symptoms of falls in the elderly.

Falls in the elderly should be very common. The elderly's body is very fragile. If they are not careful, they will easily fall. Falls will have a great impact on the elderly's physical health and psychology. Let us understand the symptoms of falls in the elderly.

Symptoms and signs

1. Physical injury The rate of physical injury caused by falls is 10%, of which severe soft tissue injuries account for 5%, including joint effusion, dislocation, sprain and hematoma; fractures account for 5%, mainly fractures of the surgical neck of the humerus, distal radius and hip. Due to osteoporosis and increased bone brittleness, the elderly are more prone to fractures when falling, and the risk increases sharply with age. According to statistics, the incidence of hip fractures among people aged 80 to 84 who fall is 100 times that of people aged 60 to 64, and the consequences are serious. The mortality rate is 20% three months after hip fracture, and the cause of death is often complications such as lung infection caused by long-term bed rest. Even if they survive, many patients will be disabled for life. The overall mortality rate of falls in the elderly is 5 times higher than that of the elderly who have not fallen. If those who are unable to stand up within 1 hour after falling, their mortality rate will be 1 times higher. The number of people over 85 years old who died from falls (147/100,000) was significantly higher than that of those under 65 years old (1.5/100,000). Statistics show that accidental injuries caused by falls are the sixth leading cause of death among the elderly.

2. Psychological damage Although 90% of falls among the elderly do not cause physical injuries, falls cause great psychological trauma to the elderly. About 50% of people who fall develop a fear of falling again, and 25% of people who fall avoid activities because of this fear. Therefore, the fear of falling can cause a vicious cycle of falling - loss of confidence - fear of activity - weakness - more prone to falling, and even bedridden. Therefore, we must fully recognize the serious consequences of this psychological trauma.

Preventive Care

We must pay enough attention to falls among the elderly and focus on prevention. The purpose of prevention is to minimize the risk of falls without interfering with the daily activities and autonomous functions of the elderly. Since many factors are associated with falls, prevention requires consideration from multiple perspectives.

1. Increase physical exercise. The effect of increasing physical activity on the aging rate has not yet been determined, but it plays an important role in preventing falls in the elderly. Active elderly people have significantly less trouble from falls than inactive ones. The first change for most elderly people is a decrease in the height of their steps, which often causes them to fall on uneven roads. This is partly due to age-related declines in limb coordination, but reduced pelvic movement is an important factor. When walking, the pelvis must move sideways to the leg that is supporting the body weight to free up the other leg to walk forward. If the leg moves too slowly, a fall may occur. Therefore, increasing hip mobility and doing balance exercises can help prevent falls. A relatively healthy older adult may unknowingly fall into a vicious cycle of falling-loss of confidence-reduced activity-and falling again. The best way to prevent this danger is to persist in physical exercise and moral encouragement. The balance gymnastics exercises are as follows. Repeat each exercise 10 times.

(1) Section 1: ① Stand on one leg first, then on the other leg, using your fingers for support; ② Repeat the above exercises, counting from 1 to 10 for each leg; ③ Repeat the above exercises, counting from 1 to 20 for each leg.

(2) Section 2: ① Sit on a dining chair, turn left and then right; ② Repeat the above exercises with arms abducted; ③ Touch the left foot with the right hand, then touch the right foot with the left hand.

(3) Section 3: Sit down, pick up an object from the ground, lift it up, and then put it back on the ground.

(4) Section 4: ① While standing, slowly pick up the object from the table, place it on the chair, and then put it back on the table; ② Repeat the above exercises, but this time slowly place the object on the ground.

2. Maintain mental activities: The incidence of falls in the elderly who have more social activities is significantly lower than that in the elderly who have less social activities, suggesting that maintaining vigorous mental activities can prevent the occurrence of falls. People with dementia and depression are often more prone to falls due to poor concentration, reduced ability to correct imbalance, and a sense of danger in their environment. Mobilizing patients to participate in health classes and activities such as gymnastics can stimulate patients' attention and help prevent falls.

Everyone should learn more about the symptoms of falls in the elderly. When an elderly person falls, family members should be able to provide them with timely treatment and give the patient great psychological comfort. Generally, people are very fragile mentally in old age. If a fall occurs, the body and mind will be greatly affected, so family members must fulfill their responsibilities.