Question: I may be old, but I’m still pretty healthy, and I’ve never fallen down and injured anything more than my pride. Why don’t people believe me when I tell them I don’t need to worry about a bad fall?
Answer: It’s good to hear you have not had a fall with injuries. But, unfortunately, falling without injuries does not lessen your risk of falling with injuries.
If people are not believing you, this may be due an upward trend of falls among older adults, falls which have resulted in serious consequences. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released a report in May 2015 stating after age 65 death rates in the United States increased with age: “From 2000 through 2013, the age-adjusted fall injury death rate among adults aged 65 and over nearly doubled from 29.6 per 100,000 to 56.7 per 100,000.”
The report goes on to say injury deaths place a large burden on society, and many of these deaths are preventable.
Your health, medications, and even your environment can change and increase your likelihood of falling. To learn more about lessening your risk of falls, attend Falls Prevention Friday on July 10 at Aspirus Wausau Hospital from 10 to 11 a.m. To register for this free program, call the Aspirus Information Center at 715.847.2380 or 1.800.847.4707 on weekdays from 8 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.
