How the elderly can reduce the risk of falls at home and outside
There are a number of reasons for this, from loose rugs to dimly lit stairways. It suggests that everyday surroundings can pose hidden risks that may lead to serious accidents.
However, a few practical changes and greater awareness can go a long way in making both indoor and outdoor spaces safer.
Leo Mathew, physiotherapist and rehabilitation service lead at Nellsar Care Homes, has shared some helpful tips on how to reduce the risk of falls in and out of the home to ensure greater confidence, independence and peace of mind.
Stay active
'When you get older your muscle strength tends to decrease, so staying physically active and exercising regularly is really important,' says Mathew. 'Around 150 minutes, two and a half hours a week is the minimum amount of exercise we should be aiming for. This can be moderate exercise such as walking, wall push ups, heel to toe walking, cycling or sitting and standing chair exercises.'
Keep your bones strong
'Having stronger bones will help you recover quicker from a fall, otherwise you will end up with a fracture,' says Mathew. 'Consider supplements to maintain bone density strength, like vitamin D or calcium supplements.'
Get your eyes tested
Poor eyesight can significantly increase the risk of falls, particularly in older adults.
'Check your vision,' advises Mathew. 'Get an up-to-date prescription and make sure you wear the right glasses.'
Review your medication
'Reviewing medication is important so you can understand which medicine is causing what side effects,' says Mathew. 'For example, some medications might be causing some dizziness which can contribute to falls, so managing that is very important.'
Remove hazards
'Often falls occur due to an environment issue, so you need to remove any hazards in your house because of people's ability to tackle hazards tends to reduce as we age,' says Mathew. 'Make sure you don't have any loose rugs, trailing wires or rooms that are too cluttered or have loads of furniture in that you could trip over.'
Deal with slippery surfaces
'Slippery surfaces, especially in bathrooms, can cause falls so make sure you have something non-slippery like a non-slip mat or flooring to prevent this,' recommends Mathew.
Improve lighting
'Lighting is really important for reducing the risk of falls,' says Mathew. 'Putting extra lights on the stairs or installing night lights/sensor lights in the hallways are good for when you need to get up at night.'
Install some handrails
'Install some handrails on both side of stairs and/or in your bathroom and landing area so you have something to hold onto,' suggests Mathew. 'It's all about understanding your ability and then installing something to protect you.'
Wear supportive footwear
'Wearing the wrong kind of footwear can cause people to fall,' says Mathew. 'Footwear should be well-fitted, non-slip with supportive soles. Just wearing socks or slippers without grips around the house can be very slippery.'
Think about potential hazards outdoors
'It all about thinking about yourself, the environment and also knowing your limits,' says Mathew. 'Think about when is the best time to go outside for a walk or errands. Is it light enough outside? Is the path safe? Is there any tripping hazards? Is the path level enough for my ability? It's all about understanding what you can do and staying away from everything you can't do.'
Consider using a walking aid
'Walking aids offer extra support while walking and should be used if you feel the need for it, or if you've been prescribed one, because they add more balance, control and protection,' explains Mathew.
Plan ahead
'Plan ahead to reduce the risk of fall,' recommends Mathew. 'For example, keep things you frequently use in easy reach and allow yourself plenty of time to get to places.'
Identify the reasons behind previous falls
'Identify the reason that caused the fall,' advises Mathew. 'It could be a health issue or it could be an issue of the environment or an accident. Once you understand the issue, you can then try to resolve it. For example, if your muscles were weak and that caused the fall, try to strengthen them.'
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Yahoo
These medications could save thousands of lives – but doctors aren't prescribing them
In 2021, varenicline, the most effective single drug for quitting smoking, was withdrawn from the market in the UK because impurities were found at greater levels than is considered safe. Rapidly, varenicline (then sold under its brand names, Champix and Chantix) became unavailable. This was a disaster for public health. Research from University College London estimated that varenicline being unavailable resulted in about 1,890 more avoidable deaths each year because fewer people were successfully quitting smoking. But there was hope. Cytisine (also known as cytisinicline), a naturally occurring plant-based product that had been used for decades in Eastern Europe, and more recently to great effect elsewhere in the world, was licensed in the UK and made available from January 2024. Even so, there was an extended period when neither were available to people trying to quit smoking in the UK (and in other countries, too). But in the UK at least, things were looking up. Based on a limited but growing body of evidence, cytisine probably works as well as varenicline at helping people quit smoking, and it may be better tolerated with fewer side effects. It may also appeal to more smokers who may want to use a natural product rather than a drug designed in a lab. So, with varenicline withdrawn and a similarly effective treatment available, we should have seen lives saved as people who would have taken varenicline were encouraged to try cytisine instead. Why isn't anyone prescribing it? This didn't happen. Cytisine – despite now being licensed and available in the UK – is still shockingly underused. Since January 2024, only 0.2% of people trying to quit smoking have used it (the same proportion that used it in 2018, when it wasn't even officially available in the UK). Official NHS data from people accessing stop-smoking services in England confirm that only 0.7% were prescribed cytisine in 2024. So why is this? High-profile trials continue to show cytisine's effectiveness for quitting smoking (and even for quitting vaping). Maybe cytisine's relatively complex dosing schedule puts people off. Cytisine starts with six pills a day (one every two hours) and gradually tapers off over a few weeks: more confusing and less convenient than one-a-day varenicline. Another possibility is that the public's attention has shifted. With so much focus in recent years on vaping as a smoking cessation aid, prescription drugs for smoking cessation may have fallen off the radar. It could also be that GPs are reluctant to prescribe cytisine because of its cost and the assumption that local authorities should pay for it, not primary care. While it was once hoped that due to its low-cost availability in Eastern Europe, it would become the 'aspirin of smoking cessation drugs', the licensed product in the UK is now as or more expensive than other drugs. But the simplest explanation is probably the most accurate: not enough people know about cytisine. People who smoke, GPs, pharmacists and even stop-smoking services may not know it's an option. And if no one is talking about it, no one is prescribing it. And even if they do know about it, there may be a lack of confidence in using or prescribing it because it is a new drug. That's a problem. The UK government has made the shift from treating illness to preventing it a central part of its health strategy. Smoking remains the leading cause of preventable death in the country and the world. If we're serious about prevention, then effective smoking cessation support must be top of the agenda. Now, varenicline is available again (without its brand names and reformulated to remove the impurities). This is welcome news, but only 1.1% of past-year smokers reported using varenicline. That's only a quarter of the number from before its withdrawal. This raises an important question: should we return to prescribing varenicline by default, or is it time to consider cytisine as a first-line treatment? Researchers are continuing to learn more about cytisine, but as the evidence in favour of cytisine grows, maybe it needs a PR campaign for both prescribers and people who smoke. None of this is to say that cytisine is a miracle cure, or that it will work for everyone. But that's true of every way to help people quit smoking. Quitting smoking is hard, and people trying to quit need more options, not fewer, and those options need to be visible and accessible. Jonathan Livingstone-Banks is a Lecturer & Senior Researcher in Evidence-Based Healthcare at the University of Oxford. Dimitra Kale is a Senior Research Fellow in Health Psychology at UCL. Lion Shahab is a Professor in Health Psychology at UCL. This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.
Yahoo
4 hours ago
- Yahoo
The disease which takes 3.5 years to diagnose after symptoms start
A disease that affects almost one million people in the UK takes around 3.5 years to diagnose, researchers have found. Dementia sufferers have to wait a lengthy time from the onset of symptoms to an official diagnosis. And some people with early-onset dementia have an even longer wait of just over four years. A new study by UCL researchers is the first systematic review and meta-analysis of global evidence examining time to diagnosis in dementia. READ MORE: Learner drivers 'struggling to pass' as three Midland test centres among the UK's toughest The researchers reviewed data from 13 previously published studies which took place in Europe, US, Australia and China, reporting data on 30,257 participants. The study, published in the International Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry, investigated the average interval between symptom onset rated by patients or family carers using interviews or medical records to the final diagnosis of dementia. Lead author, Dr Vasiliki Orgeta, said: "Timely diagnosis of dementia remains a major global challenge, shaped by a complex set of factors, and specific healthcare strategies are urgently needed to improve it. "Other studies estimate that only 50-65% of cases are ever diagnosed in high-income countries, with many countries having even lower diagnostic rates. 'Timely diagnosis can improve access to treatments and for some people prolong the time living with mild dementia before symptoms worsen.' In a pooled meta-analysis of 10 of the included studies, the researchers found that it typically takes 3.5 years from the first alert of symptoms to a patient receiving a diagnosis of dementia, or 4.1 years for those with early-onset dementia, with some groups more likely to experience longer delays, a spokesperson for UCL said. They found that younger age at onset and having frontotemporal dementia were both linked to longer time to diagnosis. While data on racial disparities was limited, one of the studies reviewed found that black patients tended to experience a longer delay before diagnosis. Dr Orgeta said: 'Our work highlights the need for a clear conceptual framework on time to diagnosis in dementia, developed in collaboration with people with dementia, their carers, and supporters.' Dr Phuong Leung (UCL Division of Psychiatry) said: 'Symptoms of dementia are often mistaken for normal ageing, while fear, stigma, and low public awareness can discourage people from seeking help.' Professor Rafael Del-Pino-Casado, of the University of Jaén, Spain, said: 'Within healthcare systems, inconsistent referral pathways, limited access to specialists, and under-resourced memory clinics can create further delays. For some, language differences or a lack of culturally appropriate assessment tools can make access to timely diagnosis even harder.' Dr Orgeta added: 'To speed up dementia diagnosis, we need action on multiple fronts. Public awareness campaigns can help improve understanding of early symptoms and reduce stigma, encouraging people to seek help sooner. "Clinician training is critical to improve early recognition and referral, along with access to early intervention and individualised support so that people with dementia and their families can get the help they need.' The NHS lists common early symptoms of dementia as: memory loss difficulty concentrating finding it hard to carry out familiar daily tasks, such as getting confused over the correct change when shopping struggling to follow a conversation or find the right word being confused about time and place mood changes
Yahoo
6 hours ago
- Yahoo
SportsMed Physical Therapy Opens Bellville location, Expanding to 48 Clinics Across NJ and CT
BELLVILLE, N.J., Aug. 4, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- SportsMed Physical Therapy, a leading name in outpatient rehabilitation and wellness, is pleased to announce the opening of its newest clinic in Bellville, NJ. This addition brings the company's total number of clinics to 48, further expanding access to patient-centered care throughout New Jersey and Connecticut. This location reinforces the company's commitment to delivering accessible, high-quality care throughout the region. The Belleville clinic offers a wide range of services, including physical therapy, occupational and hand therapy, chiropractic care, acupuncture, pelvic floor physical therapy, and HomeCare services. Each treatment plan is developed with a focus on clinical excellence and personalized recovery. "We're proud to expand our footprint with the opening of our new multidisciplinary clinic in Belleville, bringing us to 48 locations across the region. This growth reflects our commitment to making high-quality, patient-centered care more accessible to the communities we serve. We look forward to becoming a trusted resource for individuals and families in these areas and continuing to deliver the outcomes our patients expect and deserve." - Peter N Ponzini, Chief Executive Officer, SportsMed Physical Therapy Since partnering with Hildred Capital Management in 2018, SportsMed has grown from 7 to 48 locations and continues to build on its mission of improving lives through movement and recovery. SportsMed is a portfolio company of Hildred Capital Management, a NYC-based investor in lower middle market healthcare companies. About SportsMed Physical Therapy SportsMed Physical Therapy is a multi-disciplinary physical therapy company with 49 locations across New Jersey and Connecticut. Since 2004, SportsMed has offered comprehensive outpatient rehabilitation and wellness services, including physical therapy, occupational/hand therapy, chiropractic care, and acupuncture services. SportsMed prioritizes offering its patients the highest quality of care possible. For more information, please visit and follow them on LinkedIn. About Hildred Capital Management Hildred Capital Management is a healthcare-focused private equity firm that seeks opportunities to create value in middle-market companies. The firm specializes in partnering with management teams to help them scale their platforms, generate earnings growth, promote strategic and operational improvements, generate business development, and drive multiple expansion. For more information, please visit and follow the firm on LinkedIn. View original content to download multimedia: SOURCE SportsMed Physical Therapy Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
