Are most elderly falls preventable?

Falls among the elderly can be very dangerous, even fatal, and some estimates suggest that as many as one in three seniors fall in any given year. But a new report from the British charity Age UK says that many falls could be avoided if more seniors are given the tools to be able to help themselves be more physically fit, which would help prevent falls, or at least minimize the severity of the falls.

As reported recently in the Telegraph newspaper, nearly 90,000 seniors in the UK fall every year, but Age UK believes that as many as seven thousand lives could be saved every year if seniors had more access to exercise regimens aimed at strengthening them.

Beyond the physical damage from falls, they also bring deep psychological consequences, as well.

“Falls are not only physically debilitating but, particularly for older people, they really knock their confidence and can slow recovery,” Jo Webber, director of the Ambulance Service Network, told the Telegraph.

Age UK argued that current governmental efforts against senior falls are primarily aimed at preventing falls, but that many lives could be saved if efforts were focused on helping seniors gain enough strength so that they will be less susceptible to falls in the first place, whether they live at home or in assisted living communities.