Falling

One in 4 people over 65 in the U.S. fall each year

By Marvin Druger  |  mdruger@syr.edu

 

Older people tend to lose their balance and falls are not uncommon. Indeed, falls are the leading cause of injuries for older people.

Studies have shown that 1 in 4 people over 65 in the U.S. fall each year. Many falls go unreported, but we often hear about some elderly person falling and breaking a hip or some other bone.

Oftentimes, the fallen person may escape serious injury, but the fallen elderly person has difficulty in getting up. A friend of mine had a fall and couldn’t get up. He crawled to a closet and obtained a coat. He lay on the floor for several hours until his son came home from work and assisted him.

In an old-age exercise class at the health club, we often did exercises on mats. Then, the instructor would command, “OK, everyone. Hop up!” This command was followed by moans and groans as the people struggled to their feet. I discovered firsthand that, if older people fall, they have difficulty getting up.

I have experienced several memorable falls:

Once, I was climbing a ladder to saw off a limb on a tree. The ladder was tilted and it slipped. I fell to the soft ground below and, fortunately, was not injured. It all seemed to happen in slow motion. The actual fall felt like it lasted forever. As I fell, I recall thinking, “What do I do now?” Then, plunk! I hit the ground.

On another occasion, I was standing on a steep hill trying to pull a stubborn vine from the ground. Suddenly, the roots pulled out and I went rolling down the hill. Again, it seemed like an eternity, and I thought to myself, “Will I get hurt?” Again, plunk! This time, I injured a rib that must have hit against a rock. I checked the rest of my body and it seemed uninjured.

A third memorable fall was when I was riding a bicycle for the first time in many years. I started down a steep hill and I thought to myself, “I’m going too fast. I’d better apply the brakes.” I pushed back on the pedals, but the bicycle kept rolling down the hill. I forgot that the brakes on modern bicycles are on the handlebars, not on the pedals. I suddenly squeezed the handlebars and the bicycle stopped abruptly. I tumbled over the handlebars headfirst, again experiencing the mental time perception of a fall. This time, I only had a few bruises and a scraped knee.

Another time, I fell at my lakehouse in deep snow. I had no leverage and I couldn’t get up. I started laughing. I had a vision that someone would come along and find my frozen body in the snow. I escaped injury and I crawled to the corner of my house and was able to stand up.

Another time, I had just returned home from some surgery at a hospital. I tripped on a step and tumbled down 13 steps on the staircase. Again, the fall seemed like an eternity. Fortunately, the steps were carpeted and I wasn’t injured, just embarrassed. I had banisters installed on all the staircases in my large, colonial house.

Finally, I recall a fall that marked the transition in my life from a youngster to an adult. I was hiking and I came to a stream with a flat rock in the center. As a youth, I thought that I could easily jump onto the rock and hop over the stream. In the middle of my jump, I suddenly thought, “I could fall and get hurt.” Splash! There I was in the water, transitioning from the invincibility of youth to the susceptibility of an older adult.

 

Steps to minimize falling

There are many reasons why elderly people may be at risk for falling, such as lower body weakness, vitamin D deficiency, difficulties with balance and walking, poor footwear, vision problems, tripping hazards in the home and use of certain medications. Falling is not fun, but steps can be taken to minimize the risks.

Many elderly people use walkers, canes, wheelchairs and other mobility devices. I have a cane, but I am delaying using it until I get older and am obliged to use it. I sometimes carry the cane with me, just in case I may need it. The cane also gets me lots of sympathy. Strangers help me with routine tasks, probably because they see this older man who can’t walk well.

I had my cane with me when I was at the airport. The cane was splotched with brown shoe polish where the outer covering had worn off. A lady came over and remarked, “Is that a shillelagh cane from Ireland?” I replied, “No, it’s a crappy cane from my attic.” However, it does resemble a fancy shillelagh cane.

I once visited a friend in the hospital who had just had back surgery. I was walking in the hallway toward his room. Suddenly, he ran out of his room into the hallway, waving a walker over his head. He yelled, “What’s this for?” I guess he didn’t want to have anyone see him using a walker. Many people probably simply avoid using any device that points toward old age.

At the time of this writing, my companion, Victoria, fell on her household steps and broke her humerus. (This wasn’t very humorous.) She had surgery and is now recovering.

After a fall, the individual may develop a fear of falling again. Stooped posture and an awkward way of walking may result. The individual may become angry about the fall. “Why was I so stupid?”

The only fall that I can think of that is enjoyable is falling in love. Be careful.