Incorrect Weight Shift Blamed for Most Fall Accidents Involving Seniors

New research out of Canada seems to indicate that an incorrect shift in weight while performing routine activities is linked to most fall accidents involving senior citizens.

Fall prevention for seniors is a major geriatric health issue, especially because of the growing numbers of independent seniors who now choose to live alone. These senior citizens are not just at a higher risk of falls because of slowing reflexes, poor vision and other factors, but may also be at a much higher risk of severe injuries like hip or knee fractures. Woodland Hill slip and fall accident lawyers find that such fractures may take a long time to heal, or never completely heal, leaving seniors with a poor quality of life. That in turn affects their mental health, and overall well being.

For these reasons, researchers have recently been focusing a lot on preventing fall accidents involving senior citizens. A new study that was conducted in British Columbia tried to understand the causes of fall accidents involving seniors by installing video cameras at 2 nursing facilities in British Columbia. They recorded a total of 227 fall accidents, and when they analyzed these falls, they found that approximately 20% were due to trips, and 10% were caused by being bumped or nudged by another person.

However, the remaining 70% of falls were caused when the person was indulging in normal activities, like walking or sitting. The researchers believe that in most cases, an incorrect shift of shift of weight, relative to the person’s center of gravity, was the reason for the accident. The research also found that approximately 37% of the accidents involved a head injury, even though the persons put their arms out to break the fall and prevent an injury.