Senior falls are one of the most serious health issues that can affect your elderly family member.

So many factors can increase your senior’s fall risk even more than she might realize. Understanding those factors can help you and your senior to put plans in place to reduce the risk of senior falls.

Losing Balance and Flexibility

Both balance and flexibility are important to avoid a fall. Balance issues keep your elderly family member from being able to tell where she is in space, causing her to stand upright when she walks. Lack of flexibility means that your senior’s joints aren’t able to respond and move in the ways they need to in order to help her to stay upright.

Losing Stamina

Your senior needs stamina in order to avoid a fall because it’s a necessary part of being able to stand and to walk. If she’s running out of endurance too soon, that can compromise her ability to have safe mobility. Issues with stamina are common after a period of being sedentary, whether that’s because of an illness, an injury, or simply inactivity.

Losing Muscle Tone

When your senior loses muscle tone, she no longer has the strength that she needs in order to walk safely and to avoid a fall. The problem with losing muscle tone is that it can happen quickly and very subtly. Your elderly family member may find that just a short time of not being as active as she used to be can cause her to experience significant muscle tone.

Losing Vision

Your senior’s vision helps her to be able to see obstacles and to be able to keep her balance. When she’s not able to see well, she may not be able to trust the input her brain is receiving from her eyes. That can cause her to second guess herself and her actions, which can lead to a fall.

Being Afraid to Walk or Fall

Fear is another huge factor when it comes to fall risk. Your senior may become scared that she will fall or afraid to walk, even around her own home. That can then become such a powerful fear that your elderly family member starts to experience loss of stamina, balance, and muscle tone, therefore increasing her risk of falling.

Having elder care providers available regularly can help your senior to deal with many of these challenges and can help her to improve her overall mobility, avoiding senior falls, as well.

If you or an aging loved-one are considering hiring Home Care in Mullica Hill, NJ, please contact the caring staff at Attentive Care Inc. at 1-800-493-5660