“People over the age of 65 usually fall once a year. Those of more than 80, several. And the results can be dire.” This is how the professor of Human Physiology at the Autonomous University of Barcelona, August Corominas, warned in a recent article from the Royal European Academy of Doctors. According to the World Health Organization, a fall is defined as any event that precipitates the individual against her will, which is especially worrying when the body is fragile.
Physiology does not deceive, and from the age of 30, especially in the case of women, the physical and mental capacities, the so-called processes of morphogenesis and physiogenesis, stop evolving in the human being. However, until the age of 65 the body does not weaken and can even increase its strength and the dynamism of various muscles, as well as strengthen the bones, practicing exercise and following healthy lifestyle habits.
The problem starts from that age, when the bones tend to weaken and can break relatively easily. That is why, given the evidence and the lack of other alternatives, taking precautions is crucial. Especially if we take into account that statistic that points to the risk of suffering at least one unwanted annual drop. Those that occur at night are especially dangerous for the elderly, especially if they are alone, and they are the ones that carry the greatest risk of being fatal, so it is essential to avoid changes in the furniture or other elements to keep the room as clean as possible. always, taking into account that these people usually get up at dawn to go to the bathroom.
“Up to 50% of older patients with fractures, especially of the hip, die in the first six months after the injury and a large number of those who survive do not recover their previous level of independence and functionality. The prompt surgical solution reduces mortality and complications; every two days of waiting for surgery doubles the risk of death”, notes a study by the Faculty of Medicine of the National Autonomous University of Mexico.
A hip fracture is actually a break in the neck of the femur, the part closest to the head of this bone. There are times when it is even difficult to determine if a fall has occurred as a result of a pathological fracture or the other way around, due to trauma. In any case, the pain is very intense and the mobility of the joint is seriously damaged. Likewise, effusions and numbness may appear in the affected leg. At advanced ages, in many cases this means undergoing surgery to correct the fracture or place a prosthesis that is not without risks, such as infections, bleeding or even a change in the length of the leg, as well as long recovery and treatment periods. of physiotherapy.
Osteoporosis, a disease characterized by a decrease in bone density due to the loss of normal bone tissue, is inevitable on many occasions and, as much as it can be treated to reduce the risk of fractures, it is always necessary to proceed with great caution. “I always recommend my patients to be very careful with the footwear they wear both in their daytime activities and when they walk around their homes and to avoid having carpets, rugs and loose cables at home. Any fall can take a long time to recover and in the worst cases can even be fatal”, advises Josep Munné, from the Rheumatology department of the Hospital Clínic de Barcelona.
“We have several cases in which episodes of insomnia or simply irritability cause an elderly person to fall. Every older person, in my opinion, should leave a soft light on at night, so they don't bump themselves or fall if they wake up thirsty or need to go to the bathroom, especially if they have the usual vision problems at that age. The ideal is to place lights attached to the interior of the corners of the walls of any room”, remarks, for her part, the physiotherapist María Palacios.
Among the many options so that the elderly do not suffer falls is preventing them from going up and down stairs, providing them with a cane or walker if they walk with difficulty, convincing them to wear comfortable clothes, with the bottoms of their pants above the ankle so that they do not tripping over them, install grab bars in the shower or bathtub and on the sides of the toilet, and place non-slip stickers on the floor of the bathtubs. “These are very basic measures, but too often they are not taken into account and the consequences can be very serious. Obviously, it is also very important that they follow a healthy diet and that they are always well hydrated. When the person is over 75 years of age, I strongly recommend hiring a telecare service in case something happens”, recommends Munné.
Avoiding a sedentary lifestyle is also essential. In fact, until it is physically impossible, you should try to do physical exercise, even if it is limited to walking for half an hour a day. For a few years now, the benefits of so-called power walking have spread throughout the world, a sport modality that consists of walking at an accelerated pace of between 7 km/h and 9 km/h for between 45 and 60 minutes a day. The shoulders must be thrown back, the chest must be upright and the arms must be brought at a right angle to match them with the energetic steps of the feet whose tips must be raised slightly. And, as in any physical activity, it is recommended to start little by little and gradually increase the pace and duration as physical tone improves, in addition to warming up the muscles before starting and stretching them at the end, for optimum recovery.
As points in favor, since there is no impact on the stride, the joints suffer less and the benefits are more than evident: in addition to the possibility of losing around 400 calories per session, legs, buttocks, trunk, abdomen are toned and it improves flexibility and respiratory capacity, as well as reducing the risk of cardiovascular diseases, osteoporosis or cholesterol. Likewise, the segregation of endorphins reduces stress or anxiety.
“It may seem too much for people over 60, but we have already seen former President Mariano Rajoy practice it and Barack Obama is one of his great defenders. We are so used to a sedentary lifestyle, the endemic disease of modern society, that any exercise seems like an odyssey to us, and it is not. What's more, success is not in walking only once a week. The fundamental thing is to cover a certain distance at least once a day and if we are talking about older people, it can be divided into two parts with an interval of a few hours”, remarks Palacios in relation to power walking.
