The Risk of Falling for the Elderly
If you have an aging family member, it is commonplace to begin worrying about their wellbeing — especially if they live alone. One of the most common risks of injury in older populations is falling. Falling can occur for a number of reasons, with many different factors determining if your loved one might be at risk of falling. As a home care furniture company, we understand the implicit risk for elderly people to fall and become injured — being why we create mobility chairs for the elderly, as well as for those who suffer from mobility-impacting diseases like dementia, multiple sclerosis, and severe arthritis.
When it comes to our loved ones, nobody wants to take the risk of their loved one falling — making it incredibly important to assess the risk of your loved one falling and to plan accordingly to prevent it.
In today’s blog post HomeCARE furniture by ComforTek, your source of mobility chairs and caregiver assistance tools, will be discussing a few of the telltale signs that might suggest they are a falling risk.
What Increases Someone’s Fall Risk?
When it comes to fall risks, there are multiple factors that contribute to why an elderly person might fall. Below, we have made a small list of some of the factors that might contribute to the heightening of your loved one’s fall risk.
Decreasing Strength
One thing that happens to everyone, and we mean everyone, is the deterioration of muscles and strength. Around the age of 30 years old, the average person begins to lose strength — regardless of their physical health. While you will not notice when you are younger, it will catch up with you quickly when you become elderly. The less muscle that you have, the weaker that your musculoskeletal system will become. When it comes to your elderly family member, it is important to keep an eye on their strength as they enter their golden years.
Worsening Balance
Another thing that can contribute to your loved one’s risk of falling and becoming injured is their balance — something that becomes worse as muscles deteriorate and strength is lost. Issues with balance can be a result of many things, but one of the lesser known impacts on an elderly person’s balance is medication. If your elderly parent is taking medication on a daily basis, it is important to do some research, as some medications can affect your loved one’s ability to maintain their balance.
Declining Eyesight
One of the more obvious things that might contribute to balance issues is that of declining eyesight. One of the most common reasons for an elderly individual to fall and become injured is that there is something in their way that they are unable to see — resulting in them falling and becoming injured. One of the best ways to avoid their eyesight contributing to their fall risk is to take them for regular eye appointments, as well as clear all of the walkway hazards in their home.
Loss Of Flexibility
As seniors age, their muscles lose mass, and their tendons and joints begin to tense up. When someone loses their mobility, everything becomes more difficult, especially sitting (but don't worry, that is something we can help with). If your elderly loved one is experiencing loss in flexibility, there are a couple of things that you can do to reduce their fall risk. One thing that you can do is take them to physical therapy, where a therapist will help them improve their flexibility. Another is to purchase home care furniture like ours that might make the sitting and standing process safer.
Equip Yourself With The Tools To Care For Your Loved Ones
Aging is inevitable, and even without the development of a disease or condition, it is likely that at some point your loved one will become a fall risk. Because of the seemingly inevitable development of a mobility issue, it is important for you, as the loved one to an elderly family member, to prepare for that day with mobility assistance tools like home care furnishings.
As we have discussed in some of our past blogs, when a loved one becomes a fall risk, they are not the only one in danger. Caregivers can become injured just as easily as their loved ones. Mobility equipment like our mobility assistance chairs are specially designed with the safety of both you and your loved one in mind. We urge you to browse our extensive inventory of home care furniture ranging from bariatric chairs with casters to swivel dining room chairs to see if any of our products might help to optimize your loved one’s home.
If you have any questions about our home care furniture we urge you to contact us today.