NICK GOSNELL
Hutch Post
HUTCHINSON, Kan. — According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, more than one out of four older people falls each year, but less than half tell their doctor. If you are older, even if you haven't fallen, talk to your health care provider about how to minimize that risk.
"A lot of patients think that they don't want to mention it to their primary care provider," said Jessica Knight APRN FNP-C with Hutchinson Primary Care Associates. "They really should. It's part of our job. Especially after the age of 65, it's kind of part of Medicare guidelines to be screening for those questions, have you had a fall within the last six months, did you have a fall with an injury? Those things help us escalate the need for intervention."
Each year, 3 million older people are treated in emergency departments for fall injuries.
"If they have fallen and have hit their head and they've got obvious head trauma, lacerations, abrasions, anything like that on their head, especially in older adults, we get concerned for bleeding on the brain somewhere," said Kaity Hollingsworth, Trauma Coordinator with Hutchinson Regional Emergency Department. "If you come in, whether it's private vehicle or EMS and you've got anything going on, any injury to your head, you're going to go straight back for a CT scan, usually of your head and neck, just to make sure there's no bleeding, no fractures in your neck, anything like that."
Improving strength and balance is an important way to prevent falls overall.
"Exercise is the main thing we tell patients," Knight said. "Strength training, we get them into physical therapy for balance training. Those are the main research based things that we tell patients to do."
Make an appointment with your health care provider to discuss your fall risk. Over 800,000 patients a year are hospitalized because of a fall injury, most often because of a head injury or hip fracture.
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