Gloria Moraga - Political Woman

The number of older Americans who die each year following a fall is rising. According to a study by the Journal for the American Medical Association or JAMA the number of deaths for people over 75 doubled from 2000 to 2016. We are living longer, but now we are dying in great numbers just because we fall down. The worst part, many of these deaths can be prevented. 

The image you are seeing is an x-ray of my right leg and hip AFTER surgery in August 2019. My bone is shown beneath the three screws doctors drilled into my femur and hip to repair the crack in my leg. Yes. I fell. And Yes! I have bone ISSUES. This is my story, but it is also about all of us who are getting older and who keep falling down. We can prevent most of these falls; with education. Here are some horrible statistics and some prevention tips.

According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention:

• One in four Americans aged 65+ falls each year.
• Every 11 seconds, an older adult is treated in the emergency room for a fall; every 19 minutes, an older adult dies from a fall.
• Falls are the leading cause of fatal injury and the most common cause of nonfatal trauma-related hospital admissions among older adults.
• Falls result in more than 2.8 million injuries treated in emergency departments annually, including over 800,000 hospitalizations and more than 27,000 deaths.
• In 2015, the total cost of fall injuries was $50 billion. Medicare and Medicaid shouldered 75% of these costs.
• The financial toll for older adult falls is expected to increase as the population ages and may reach $67.7 billion by 2020.

How to avoid falling, some tips from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention:

Tips

• Exercise. Get fit, Or as fit as possible, try yoga and ti Chi
• Be careful with your Medication. Try to get off sleeping pills
• Change your glasses. Don’t use bifocals or progressive glasses cause they alter dept perception.
• No more high heels or open shoes or SLIPPERS!!!
• Eliminate tripping and slipping hazards = NO MORE SMALL RUGS!
• Are you too proud to use a cane or walker? Get over it.

 Thanks for listening and please share this life-saving information with someone you love. 

Music Credit

Vibe With Me by Joakim Karud http://soundcloud.com/joakimkarud Music promoted by Audio Library https://youtu.be/-7YDBIGCXsY