Most Falls Occur In The Home

Statistics Show That Most Falls Occur In The Home

• 55% of all falls take place inside the home.
• More than three-quarters take place either inside or in close proximity to the home.
• More fall injuries are caused by falls on the same level (vs. stairs) and from a standing highlight, i.e. tripping while walking.

Many times patients don't seek fall prevention until having already fallen. Early fall prevention and balance therapy is the key to minimizing trips to the hospital. Although you may feel that patients would be better off going to a facility where they can use machines, the majority of patients fall in their own home. Hip fractures are the number one injury that results from a fall. Therefore, the best place to teach fall prevention and work on balance is in the patient's own home where they feel the most comfortable and can be taught how to prevent and reduce the risk of falls, within their own environment. In addition to a fall prevention and balance program, a personalized and progressive strengthening program will be put together. The goal of this is to help the patient build and maintain their muscle strength, which helps them become stronger, playing a big role in the prevention of loss of balance.

Of course, you have the option to send your patients to the clinic for physical therapy. Just know that if it’s too difficult for the patient to travel, then physical therapy in the home is a great alternative.

Falls are the major reason seniors require physical therapy

The goal of physical therapy at home for seniors is to help restore and improve functionality, reduce pain and increase mobility for better strength and balance. As people age, they tend to lose flexibility and strength which contributes to bad balance. Seniors tend to lose muscle mass at a fast rate and maintaining the desired level of fitness becomes increasingly challenging. Loss of these functions causes patients to decondition and could lead to a fall that could cause serious injury. Having your patients work with a physical therapist can help improve these functions, reduce pain, as well as help improve overall strength and ability to reduce the risk for injuries, allowing seniors to maintain a higher quality of life.

If you have any questions, give Reddy Care Physical & Occupational Therapy a call!
Reddy Care Great Neck: 516-829-0030
Reddy Care Farmingdale: 516-420-2900
In-Home Physical & Occupational Therapy: 516-829-0030

Author

Reddy Care Physical & Occupational Therapy Reddy Care Physical & Occupational Therapy is an outstanding specialty service providing exceptional care and state-of-the-art treatments for the residents of Farmingdale and Great Neck, New York. The combination of innovative exercise programs, manual therapy, and technology together with the expertise of every member of the team enables Reddy Care Physical & Occupational Therapy to provide services that ensure superior clinical outcomes and consistently high patient satisfaction.