READ OUR BLOG



falls.jpg
16/Nov/2022

Tips for preventing falls

The 80’s song ‘catch me I’m falling’ could have been my family anthem. We’re clumsy, uncoordinated, and with two left feet, always slipping, tripping, and falling. 😁

It‘s just the way we are. I’ve even gotten to the point of doing a ‘ta-da’ after a trip, extending my arms over my head like a gymnast at the end of a routine.😀

But now, as I’m getting older, it’s not so amusing. I’m conscious of the more serious repercussions of falling. In fact, just last week, I tripped over my cat, whacked the side of my head on the kitchen counter and broke my glasses. Fortunately, I wasn’t seriously injured. But it made me take stock, stop thinking about falls as something I have to put up with and start being more proactive in preventing them.

Because the good news is that falls aren’t inevitable. They can often be prevented, or at the least, any injuries that occur can be minimised.

Let’s start with some facts

Data from the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare shows that falls are Australia’s largest contributor to injuries that require a stay in hospital and are a leading cause of injury deaths.(1) More than half of the hospitalisations were due to broken bones – often hips, vertebrae and wrists.

Falls can happen anywhere and to anyone, but a fall that lands you in hospital is more common in older people and most likely to occur in the home.

The stats are alarming, and like me, you may think these were falls from a height or down stairs. But the truth is, ‘over half of all falls leading to hospitalisation occurred on a single-level surface (for example, by slipping), and only 7% of falls leading to hospitalisation involved stairs or steps.’(1) 😱

And if you have osteoporosis and your bones are already fragile, the risk of breaking a bone due to a fall is much greater.

So to avoid becoming one of these stats, we can’t see falls as an inevitable part of life and getting older. They’re a serious problem, and we all need to take steps to prevent them.

We know that falls can result in broken bones, but they can also cause:

  • Dislocated joints (e.g. shoulder)
  • Head injuries
  • Bruises, scrapes and sprains
  • A loss of confidence which can lead to restricting activities due to the fear of falling. For example, avoiding walks in the park or going into places that are unfamiliar, crowded or have stairs/steps due to fear of falls,

What causes people to fall?

Health issues

  • If you’ve fallen more than once in the past 6 months, you’re more likely to fall again.(2)
  • Medical conditions that lead to reduced strength and endurance (e.g. arthritis), loss of sensation (e.g. diabetic neuropathy), impaired balance (e.g. Parkinson’s disease) and cognitive impairment (e.g. dementia).
  • Medicine side effects, especially if you’re taking several medicines.
  • Poor eyesight and vision problems.
  • Incontinence. Rushing to the toilet can increase your risk of falling, especially at night.

The environment

  • Trip hazards in your home and the community, e.g. clutter, cords and cables, wet and/or slippery floors, uneven footpaths, and pets.
  • Poor lighting.
  • Inappropriate or ill-fitting footwear and clothing.

Reducing your risk

Falls are usually caused by a combination of factors. Changing some of these factors can lower your chances of falling. Or, if you do fall, reduce your risk of serious injury.

Exercise regularly

Australian physical activity and exercise guidelines recommend that all adults be active most days, preferably every day, for 30 minutes or more. Exercise is vital for good health, maintaining independence, and lowering your risk of falls and fall-related injuries. Physical activity helps to maintain and improve your mobility, strength, posture, coordination, balance and flexibility.

People with better posture, better balance and stronger muscles are less likely to fall or be injured. On the other hand, people who aren’t very active are more likely to fall and be injured than those who are more active.

Talk with your doctor, physiotherapist or exercise physiologist for information and advice about how you can safely become more active.

And read Exercise for preventing falls by The Royal Australian College of General Practitioners for more info.

Look after your health

  • Talk with your doctor about your medicines. Some medicines can help reduce falls, such as pain-relievers that decrease your pain and allow you to move more comfortably and be more active. However, some medicines or combinations of medicines can cause dizziness, drowsiness or confusion, which increases your risk of falling. Understanding your medicines and how they affect you is an important strategy for reducing this risk.
  • Eat a healthy, balanced diet with regular meals throughout the day to avoid feeling lightheaded, weak or dizzy. Stay hydrated and drink plenty of water each day.
  • Limit alcohol intake as it can affect your balance and coordination and increase your risk of falling.
  • Have your eyes tested regularly by an optometrist. If you wear glasses, keep them clean. If you have different glasses for different situations, e.g. reading or distance glasses, make sure you use the appropriate ones for the task. Be careful when going up and down stairs if you wear multifocals.
  • Wear sunglasses outside to minimise glare and squinting and to protect your eyes from UV damage.
  • When moving from a light to a dark space, or vice versa, allow time for your eyes to adjust.
  • See a podiatrist if you have problems with your feet that affect your balance or how you walk; for example, pins and needles, pain, swelling, or poor circulation. They can help you address these issues. They can also give you advice about appropriate footwear.
  • Take time to regain your balance after lying down or standing up after sitting.

Move around safely

  • If you’re unsteady on your feet or have painful feet, hips or knees, you may need some support to get around. A physiotherapist or occupational therapist can help you decide if a mobility aid (e.g. a walking stick or walker) is appropriate for you. They’ll also help you learn how to use it correctly and adjust it to your requirements.
  • Plan your outings to fit how you’re feeling. For example, if you’re at the shopping centre and feel tired or your feet begin to hurt, you might need to sit and rest for a while. Or, avoid going for a long walk if you’re having a day when your pain and fatigue levels are high. Take a shorter walk instead.
  • Be aware of the weather and how it can affect your environment. For example, footpaths are often slippery when wet, especially if there are wet leaves on them. Or, on sunny days, sun glare can make visibility more difficult, and you may not be able to see as clearly as usual.

Choose your clothing and footwear carefully

  • Avoid long trousers or skirts that may get caught underfoot or on furniture.
  • Wear well-fitting, supportive shoes with non-slip soles. Avoid high heels, floppy slippers, shoes with slick soles, and walking around in your socks.
  • Hip protectors may be an option for people with osteoporosis or those who fall often. They’re plastic shields or foam pads that fit into the pockets of specially designed underwear and reduce hip fractures from a fall. Your doctor can give you more information about hip protectors.

Reduce the hazards in your home

  • Make sure mats, rugs and carpet edges are lying flat on the ground and well secured. If they’re loose or curled up, they can cause you to trip.
  • Clean up spills from the floor immediately. If you have balance issues and bending over is a problem, ask someone else to clean the floor or use a light mop.
  • Ensure your walkways are clear of clutter, and you have plenty of space to walk between furniture without anything getting in your way.
  • Remove cords and cables from walkways. Secure them to skirting boards or close to the wall.
  • Install non-slip mats in the bathroom.
  • Pets can be a trip hazard (as I learned the hard way), especially if they like to be close to you or it’s meal time. 😼 So be aware of where they are when you’re up and about. 🐶
  • Make sure your home is well-lit so you can always see where you’re going. If you get up in the night frequently to go to the toilet, make sure you have a bright bedside light or use a torch so you can see clearly. Motion sensor lights are also handy and can be plugged into power points on the way to the toilet.
  • Consider installing a handrail on at least one side of any stairs and next to baths, showers and toilets.
  • Safety strips on the edges of outdoor stairs are also a good idea. They provide additional grip and help you see exactly where the edge of the step is.

What to do if you fall

Sometimes, no matter how careful you are, you can still have a fall.

So if you have a fall, it’s important that you try not to panic (easier said than done 😑). And although your first reaction may be to get up quickly, especially if you’re in public, because you’re embarrassed (been there, done that), take a moment.

  • Assess the situation. Are you hurt? Is it safe to get up? Have you damaged your glasses? Or lost your walking stick?
  • Make a decision whether or not to try to get up. Factoring into your decision will be whether you’re safe where you are, e.g. have you fallen onto a footpath or the road?

If you can get up:

  • Take time to recover. Sit and let yourself get over the shock. Drink some water. Take stock of your injuries.
  • Tell someone you’ve had a fall and/or seek medical advice. Don’t just brush it off. Falls can signify that something’s wrong – e.g. medicine side effects, balance problems, or a new health issue.

If you can’t get up:

  • Try sliding or crawling to seek help.
  • Use your phone or personal alarm, call for help or make a loud noise to attract attention.
  • Make yourself as comfortable as possible until help arrives
  • Seek medical advice/or call an ambulance.

Services to help keep you safe

If you’ve done all you can to prevent falls and are still concerned about your risk, there are services available to help you.

  • Falls and balance clinics provide multidisciplinary assessment and management planning for people who’ve had falls and have mobility and balance problems. People receive information on making their homes safer and are referred to physiotherapy, occupational therapy, exercise classes and other allied health professionals. Talk with your doctor about whether this might be an option for you.
  • Personal alarms. There are two basic personal alarm options; a pendant you wear around your neck and a smartwatch worn on your wrist. Pressing the button on the alarm will trigger contact with the service company, who’ll then contact your nominated relative, friend, neighbour or a response service. Some people can access free or reduced-cost personal alarms through government schemes such as the Commonwealth Home Support Program, National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) and Department of Veterans’ Affairs. Visit their websites or speak with your doctor to see if you’re eligible. A variety of private companies provide this service for a fee if you don’t qualify for the free service.
  • Red Cross Telecross is a free service offered by the Australian Red Cross. It aims to provide people who live alone and are at risk of illness or accident the peace of mind that someone is looking out for them. Each morning, every day of the year, trained volunteers make a short call to people’s homes. If the call goes unanswered, Red Cross will take action to make sure that the person is OK. For information about accessing Telecross, call Red Cross on 1300 885 698.

Contact our free national Help Line

Call our nurses if you have questions about managing your painmusculoskeletal condition, treatment options, mental health issuestelehealth, or accessing services. They’re available weekdays between 9am-5pm on 1800 263 265; email (helpline@msk.org.au) or via Messenger.

More to explore

References

(1) Falls, Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, 2022.
(2) Falls and the elderly, healthdirect, 2020.


computer-on-couch.jpg
11/Jun/2020

Sore neck? Back? Knees? Feel like you’ve aged 20 years with all the niggles, twinges and outright pain you’re feeling lately? You’re not alone. Many of us, even those who don’t live with a musculoskeletal condition, are feeling the physical effects of months of isolation, changes to our routine and living more sedentary lives than usual.

There are many reasons for this, and the good news is there’s lots you can do to deal with these annoying aches and pains.

Working or studying from home

When many of us first started working from home, it felt strange but also pretty cool. No dreaded peak hour commute. Yay! Instead we moved a bit more leisurely, lingered over coffee and our slippers stayed on all day. But after months of sitting at makeshift desks, or using laptops for hours on end, or struggling with tech issues and video calls, the cool phase is well and truly gone.

You may notice that you’re getting a sore neck more often, or your back aches, or you’re really tight across your shoulder blades. Or when you stand up your knees and/or hips let you know quite emphatically that you’ve been sitting in one place for a loooong time.

The problem is most of us don’t have a dedicated working space that’s set up as well as the one we had in the office. And since we’re likely to be working from home for quite some time, we need to deal with these issues rather than continuing to put up with them and the resulting aches and pains. Some simple things you can do include:

  • Have a routine – and stick to it. Find what works best for you and your specific situation. Whether you’re home schooling your kids, sharing your work space and equipment with your partner, or keeping your pets off your laptop, all of these things will factor into your routine. For me, internet access is really poor during the late afternoon, so starting work earlier and finishing earlier meant I could work more productively and with much less frustration. We’ll all have different solutions to suit our unique situations. So work out what’s best for you and stick with it. And don’t forget to talk with your employer if your new routine affects how/when you work.
  • Check out your work space. Is it helping or hindering you? Are you putting up with an uncomfortable space because you’re not sure what else to do? If so Safe Work Australia has a guide to help you set up your workstation and ABC News also has some practical hacks to take some of the pain out of working from home.
  • Move. When you’re working from home it’s easy for time to get away from you. We don’t have our usual cues to move such as getting up to go to the copier or attending a meeting in another room or just going to chat with a workmate. We’re sitting more and moving less. So you need to schedule time to get up, move around, stretch, go outside. Set up regular alerts on your phone/computer/watch – whatever works for you – and make sure you move. You’ll really notice a big difference at the end of your day.
  • Talk with your employer. If you need to adjust your hours, or you’re having issues with equipment or tech, or you’re having other issues working from home, discuss this with your manager or with HR. Together you should be able to come up with some solutions to ease these issues.

Managing stress

We’re living through a worldwide pandemic. Even after several months it feels surreal to say that. It’s important to acknowledge that it’s a really stressful time. Apart from worrying about getting sick, we’re also stressed about work, making sure the kids don’t fall behind at school, managing our chronic conditions, our finances, our family, and concern about the future. Add in the current unrest across the globe and it’s amazing we’re not all hiding under the bed.

But stress can cause physical aches and pains. It can also affect the quality of our sleep, our pain levels and can trigger a flare. So it’s important we find ways to manage stress effectively.

Many of the practical strategies we use to manage pain can be used to manage stress. These include: deep breathing, exercising, pacing, talking with a friend, mindfulness, guided imagery, progressive muscle relaxation and doing something you enjoy (e.g. reading, gardening, walking your dog, playing music).

But if you’re finding it difficult to manage your stress, talk with a professional such as your doctor or psychologist. There’s help available. And remember you can access them via telehealth if you prefer.

Spending more time at home

Even though isolation is easing we’re still meant to stay at home as much as we can. And with the weather getting really chilly, we’re getting cosy on the couch with the doona and the remote, as we binge lots of TV (or is that just me). There’s just so much to watch!

Hanging out on the couch and binge watching TV is ok occasionally, but we don’t want to get into the habit of doing it too often. Slouching on the couch and not moving for long periods can aggravate our existing musculoskeletal conditions. And if we’re not moving and being active regularly it can also make it difficult to manage our weight.

So make sure you get up and move. Take a break. Go for a walk or do some exercises or stretches.

Break up your day with a mix of activities – both physically active (e.g. walking, gardening, tidying) and more passive (e.g. reading, watching TV, sitting at a computer).

Be aware of your posture

Bad posture can sneak up on us. Working at a computer, sitting on the couch reading a book, standing around watching the kids in the playground, lifting shopping out of the boot of your car – if you’re not paying attention to your posture, it’s easy to slouch, hunch over or strain.

As I’m typing this I’m literally straightening up from the curled position I was in, hunched over my laptop. And wow – it feels amazing when you sit up straight. It’s the same when you’ve been sitting on the couch for a while – when you stand up, stretching feels soooo good.

So be aware of your posture as you’re sitting and standing. For more info read our tips for good posture.

Increase your incidental exercise

Because we’re more sedentary than usual, and don’t have many of our usual outlets for exercise, we need to find ways to become more active. Increasing our incidental exercise is one way to do this. Incidental exercise is the little bits and pieces you do over the course of your day such as walking to a letterbox to post a letter, playing with the grandkids, cleaning the house. It’s not a part of your structured exercise plan, but it is important. There are many ways you can increase your incidental exercise without too much effort or disruption to your day. Read our blog to find out more. Before you know it you’ll be feeling more energised and noticing a difference with your pain levels, sleep quality and mood.

Dress appropriately

It’s getting really cold and many of us are a little stressed at the thought of high energy bills as we stay home and use the heater more. It’s tempting to keep the heat down, but that can cause your muscles to become tense, aggravating your musculoskeletal condition. So it’s important to keep warm. One of the simplest things you can do to stay warm is to dress for the weather. Let’s face it we’re not going anywhere, so wear the thick socks, the cuddly jumper and the daggiest track pants. Whatever keeps you warm.

We also need to be mindful of our footwear. Although it’s tempting to stay in our slippers all day, our feet and ankles need proper support. Wear the right footwear for whatever you’re doing. Going for a walk? Put on your sneakers. Working at home? Wear your casual shoes/boots that support your feet and keep you warm. And lounging around in the evening? Get those slippers on.

Be careful of trips and falls

Hands up if you’ve tripped over cables, laptop bags, files, excited dogs, folders, exercise equipment, books, and other stuff that’s suddenly cluttering your home? With all of the other things going on at home at the moment, school, work, exercise, entertainment…we’ve had to make space for all sorts of things in order to be get by. Which means our risk of tripping or falling has suddenly increased, especially if you’ve got nowhere to put these things and they’re constantly in the living area. So be careful as you move around your home – don’t rush, put things away if you can and tie or tape down cables. Preventing a fall, especially if you have a musculoskeletal condition, is easier than dealing with the significant injuries a fall can cause. So please be careful.

Treating pain

Even when you’ve done everything you can to prevent joint pain and muscle strain, you may still find you’re a bit sore. Depending on how severe this pain is, you may be able to treat it simply with heat and cold, massage, short term use of medication, distraction and many other strategies. Check out our A-Z guide for managing pain for more hints and tips.
However if the pain is severe, it’s affecting your day to day activities, your ability to sleep, or it’s lasted for some time with no relief, it’s a good idea to talk with your doctor about it. Together you can find out what’s causing the pain, and the most effective ways to treat it. Don’t simply put up with it.

Contact our free national Help Line

If you have questions about things like COVID-19, your musculoskeletal condition, treatment options, telehealthmanaging your pain or accessing services be sure to call our nurses. They’re available weekdays between 9am-5pm on 1800 263 265; email (helpline@msk.org.au) or via Messenger.




Musculoskeletal Australia (or MSK) is the consumer organisation working with, and advocating on behalf of, people with arthritis, osteoporosis, back pain, gout and over 150 other musculoskeletal conditions.

Useful Links


Copyright by Musculoskeletal Australia 2023. All rights reserved

ABN: 26 811 336 442ACN: 607 996 921