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Articles tagged with: fall prevention

Fall Assessments, Senior care »

[3 Jul 2009 | 10 Comments | 72 views]

Image by Marcel B. via Flickr

UAMS Seeks Stroke Patients for Study on Preventing Falls
LITTLE ROCK — The University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) has expanded its stroke research efforts with a $100,000 federal grant that focuses on helping stroke survivors avoid future injuries due to falls by studying strength and balance.

 
Funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the two-year pilot study is led by UAMS’ Mark Mennemeier, Ph.D., an associate professor of neurobiology and developmental sciences.

 
Because alertness appears to play a role in strength and balance …

Fall Assessments, Senior care »

[13 Apr 2009 | 2 Comments | 184 views]

Image by SpAvAAi via Flickr

Good posture means keeping the three natural curves of the spine in balanced alignment. When viewed from the side, a normal spine curves slightly forward in the neck or cervical area, slightly backwards in the upper back or thoracic segment of the spine, and slightly forward in the lower back or lumbar region. The back’s natural curves depend on strong and flexible muscles along with healthy hip, knee and ankle joints to make it possible to maintain good posture in any position and during movement.  Kyphosis …

Fall Assessments, Senior care »

[7 Apr 2009 | No Comment | 16 views]

Image by yosh18 via Flickr

In my work as a fall assessment specialist, we have to take in all sorts of environmental factors when determining a client’s risk for falls.  Age, medications, floor coverings, steps, proximity of furniture, it all plays a part in our risk for falls.  A recent article by Bill Hendrick of WebMD Health News reminds us of another such environmental risk.  He notes that tens of thousands of people trip over their pets each year causing fractures or other nonfatal fall related injures.  Falls resulting in emergency …

Fall Assessments, Senior care »

[30 Mar 2009 | No Comment | 12 views]

As  a nurse caring for the geriatric communication, fall prevention can mean the difference in a long life or a complicated hospital stay.  Whether you, yourself are a senior, or if you have senior loved ones, take a look at this post from the Mayo Clinic staff which addresses six ways in which to reduce your risk of falling.

photo credit: fish2000
You may feel you already know how to prevent falls, but take a look and you may be surprised at just how many things you have never considered before.  …