The number of falls in everyday life increases with age. Peter Dovjak, chief of acute geriatrics and deputy medical director of the Salzkammergut Klinikum as well as head of the department of geriatric medicine in the Medical Association for Upper Austria, conducts so-called geriatric assessments with his department – how is thinking, how does someone eat, how is walking and how about falling out?
For the last two points, walking and falling, there is a separate fall and gait analysis.
Falls are often associated with some form of helplessness as well. Anyone who had to lie on the ground for an hour because they couldn’t get up after a fall knows how dramatic a situation like this can be. Not to mention that there is always a risk of injury in the event of a fall. “So that falls don’t happen again, you have to clarify where the causes lie. The analyzes mentioned above should provide information on this,” says Dovjak.
Usually there are neurological, orthopedic or internal diseases; these often overlap. Sometimes polypharmacy—taking multiple medications—is to blame for a shaky gait. Many then do not leave the house at all or only move as if they were walking on black ice. But if you don’t walk, if you don’t move, you will get into further health problems. It is therefore important to keep moving a lot.
Source: Nachrichten
