{"id":328,"date":"2014-03-03T12:23:06","date_gmt":"2014-03-03T17:23:06","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.healthinaging.org\/blog\/?p=328"},"modified":"2014-08-05T12:13:58","modified_gmt":"2014-08-05T16:13:58","slug":"its-not-normal-falls","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.healthinaging.org\/blog\/its-not-normal-falls\/","title":{"rendered":"It’s Not Normal: Falls"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Cleveland,<\/a>Maryjo L. Cleveland, MD
\n<\/strong>Medical Director,\u00a0Post Acute & Senior Services
\n<\/strong>Chief, Division of Geriatric Medicine
\n<\/strong>Summa Health System
\n<\/strong>Akron, Ohio\u00a0<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

It is the middle of winter here in Cleveland and we have experienced an unusual amount of snow, sleet and ice. In fact, if you live anywhere with winter, I\u2019ll bet this weather has been challenging. One problem that we see more of in the winter is falls. I ask all of my patients if they have experienced a fall.\u00a0 Can you \u00a0guess the most common answer I get? It isn\u2019t \u201cno\u201d\u2014 it\u2019s \u201cnot yet.\u201d \u00a0Isn\u2019t that interesting? That answer means that they expect to fall sometime. In other words, they think it\u2019s normal. But we are here to find out otherwise!<\/p>\n

Falls are certainly common. Most people can tell you about friends or family members who have fallen and suffered a serious injury from a fall, such as a broken hip. Most people also tell me that falling is one of the things they fear the most. The good news is that while falls are common, they are not<\/b> inevitable. There are well defined risk factors that make it more likely for someone to fall.\u00a0\u00a0 And there are also recommendations on how to prevent falls. These recommendations will require you and your healthcare professional to work closely together.<\/p>\n

First, if you fall, let me encourage you to tell someone! People often do not report falls because they are fearful of the consequences. They don\u2019t want their daughter to tell them to stop going to the store or their healthcare provider to recommend a cane or a walker.\u00a0 They certainly don\u2019t want to feel \u201cold.\u201d But falling once puts you at a much greater risk for another fall\u2014even if you don\u2019t hurt yourself. It might be the next fall that causes harm. So, if you do fall, tell someone! Think of it as preventative medicine\u2014like your flu shot. This is something you do to lower your chance of getting hurt or sick in the future.<\/p>\n

Second, when you talk to your\u00a0 healthcare professional,make sure your fall is taken seriously. Don\u2019t let him or her tell you \u201cat least you didn\u2019t hurt yourself\u201d and let it go. A fall is a signal that your healthcare provider needs to check out your risk factors for falling. These risk factors include:<\/p>\n