Injuries Related to Walking Canes, Walkers are
Sending 47,000 Senior Citizens a Year to ERs
Fractures most common injury for these falls; one in
three injuries required hospitalization
June
30, 2009 - From 2001 to 2006, an average of 129 American seniors, those
ages 65 and older, were treated in emergency departments each day - a
total of more than 47,000 each year - for injuries from falls that
involved walkers and canes, according to a Centers for Disease Control
and Prevention study published this month in the Journal of the American
Geriatrics Society.
One-point decrease on social activity scale was
equivalent to being approximately five years older at the start of the
study - risk of death, disability jump
The study, which examined six years of emergency
department medical records, found that, for older adults that had falls
related to walkers- or canes, most of the injuries involved walkers (87
percent).
People were seven times more likely to be injured
in a fall with a walker as with a cane. Older women sustained more than
three out of four walker-related injuries (78 percent) and two out of
three cane-related injuries (66 percent).
Walking aids are very important in helping many
older adults maintain their mobility. However, it′s important to make
sure people use these devices safely, said Judy Stevens, Ph.D., the
study′s lead author. Walkers are often used by frail and vulnerable
older adults; people for whom falls, if they occur, can have very
serious health consequences.
Other key findings include:
● For men and women who used walkers or canes,
the chances of sustaining a fall increased with age, with the highest
injury rates among those ages 85 and older.
● Fractures were the most common type of fall
injury associated with walkers (38 percent) and canes (40 percent) and
about a third of all injuries were to the lower trunk, such as the hip
or pelvis.
● More than half of fall injuries associated
with walkers (60 percent) and canes (56 percent) occurred at home.
● One in three people whose fall involved a
walker and more than one in four (28 percent) whose fall involved a cane
had to be hospitalized.
The study points out the importance of preventing
falls related to walking aids. Some prevention strategies include:
● Encouraging professionals to spend more time
with clients (or patients) fitting walking aids, and;
● Educating people how to use walkers and canes
safely, for example, by having physical therapists provide counseling at
health fairs.
Additional studies are needed to better understand
fall risk factors for older adults who use walkers and canes, as well as
to identify potential design problems and improve the design of walkers.
Falls are the leading cause of nonfatal injury in
the United States, and falls among older adults can have especially
serious consequences. To help reduce the risk of falling, CDC′s Injury
Center recommends that adults ages 65 and older begin a regular exercise
program, have their doctors review their medications, have their vision
checked, and make their home surroundings safer.
June
30, 2009 - From 2001 to 2006, an average of 129 American seniors, those
ages 65 and older, were treated in emergency departments each day - a
total of more than 47,000 each year - for injuries from falls that
involved walkers and canes, according to a Centers for Disease Control
and Prevention study published this month in the Journal of the American
Geriatrics Society.
For more information about CDC′s fall prevention
efforts among older adults, please link to