Live at home safely without falls

Falls and fall-related injuries can negatively affect a person’s quality of life and independence. Falls among older adults have become an increasingly common health problem. Falling, however, is not a normal part of aging. Falls are the leading cause of emergency department (ED) visits for fatal and non-fatal injuries among older adults 65 years and older.

Falls affect us all—whether personally or someone we love or care about. Falls can cause broken bones, brain injury, inability to live independently, and fear of walking.

From 2018-2022, Lorain County residents 65 years and older visited the ED a total of 17,351 times for fall-related incident.

The risk of a fall-related visit to the ED increases with age. From 2018-2022, 13.7% of ED visits among residents age 75 years and older were related to a fall. Nearly 8% of ED visits among residents age 65-74 were related to a fall.

You can reduce your risk of falling in many ways - try these to start:

Manage medications with your pharmacist
Remove clutter from stairs and floors
Drink lots of water to keep hydrated
Install grab bars in the shower
Be active in all the seasons to be strong, flexible, and balanced - when a person is less active, they may become weaker and increase their chances of falling

4 ways to keep active:

Sign up to take a 6-week long Matter of Balance class to improve or maintain strength, balance, and coordination.
Find a no-cost fitness event through the United We Sweat – check out the schedule.
Join a SilverSneakers class near you –see if you qualify.
Walk with a group indoors – Whether at a big box store, school campus or at Fit Walks. The Fit Walks group is free and meets twice each week to walk on dry indoor tracks: Mondays at at Splash Zone in Oberlin and Thursdays at Mercy Recreation Center in Amherst.