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Factors that Lead to Injury Causing Falls in Seniors

As a caregiver, you must get to the bottom of what caused the fall and take preventative measures so that it does not happen again. This is because 1 out of 5 falls can result in hard to heal bone injuries or trauma to the head with major consequences. Usually, these issues are caused by undiagnosed malnutrition and lack of physical movement. It is important to stay up to date on their vision health (for vision impairments), provide nutrition that supports muscles like high quality protein, essentials that boost immunity, with any additional nutritional alternatives (eg. Ensure Gold) for better overall health .1, 6

Irregular Vision Checkups

The slightest vision impairment is one step away from tripping or slipping down a set of stairs. An aging eye’s retina is unable to process light efficiently, causing depth perception issues and creating low light obstacles. Pre-existing conditions like glaucoma or cataracts can further contribute to vision impairments.3 Encourage your loved one to do regular checkups (minimum once a year) and update the strength of their eyewear. Around the home, assess possible hazards. You may remove carpets, move around shelves, and install handlebars in places to keep an elderly’s home safe for them.1, 2, 4

Over Medication

Medications can have side-effects such as sleepiness, dizziness, muscle cramps, bloating, and low blood pressure, which can contribute to fall accidents. It can go as far as blocking or impairing the absorption of important nutrients (ie. affecting taste and digestion). Talk to your loved one often on how their medication is affecting them and check in with a medical professional often to ensure that all the treatments are working as intended.2, 3, 4

With medication affecting taste and appetite, having a complete and balanced diet is important. To improve energy, the key nutrients are Vitamin B, while Vitamin A, C and E are for supporting eye health.5 The good news is that these nutrients are found in any red meat, fish, poultry items, citrus fruits, and leafy greens. For serving size, follow the Healthy Plate Principle (½ plate fruits and vegetables, ¼ plate of proteins, ¼ plate of whole grains).7 While a loved one is adjusting to a diet, nutritional supplements can help top off. For example, Ensure Gold, is scientifically formulated to deliver complete and balanced nutrition with 28 vitamins and minerals 6, 12#of which support immunity. Also, at about 262 calories per serving, 2 servings of Ensure Gold a day can help improve health related quality of life in as early as 90 days. **

Decline in Balance

Adults over the age of 40 can lose about 8% of muscle mass per decade.^^ This biological process of muscle loss is called sarcopenia. Lack of physical activity can further exacerbate muscle loss. It can lead to reduced strength, decreased bone mass, poor balance, poor coordination, and stiff muscles or joints. To some seniors, the fear of falling stops them from being active. 2, 3, 4 If you notice your loved one holding onto walls or taking a while to sit up, visit a medical professional. Muscle strength can be supported by good nutrition, especially with high quality protein. Seniors should get more Hydroxymethylbutyrate (HMB), an important metabolite of amino acid leucine you can get from eating meat, is responsible for muscle preservation. For this, Ensure can help too. Rated No. 1 Physician Recommended Oral Nutritional Supplement in the U.S.^, Ensure Gold is formulated with HMB (hardly found in enough quantities from food alone) and higher amounts of key nutrients to improve muscle strength within 8 weeks.##

Knowledge of factors contributing to falls can help in reducing the risk of falls and injuries. Falls are never really caused by one factor, but a collection of issues. Do regular checkups and make sure that they have a complete and balanced diet with moderate physical activity. For seniors who have difficulty consuming high quality protein through food, Ensure can be enjoyed for breakfast, lunch, dinner or as a snack. For those who don’t like the taste of milk, Ensure Gold Plant Based Protein is made from soy, rice and quinoa with a great almond taste. With the same muscle strength supporting HMB benefits of Ensure Gold and immunity improving nutrients, it is an all-in-one nutrition~ seniors can rely on. For samples of either Ensure nutritional supplement, visit Ensure Myanmar today to sign up.1, 6

 

References:

  1. https://www.cdc.gov/homeandrecreationalsafety/falls/adultfalls.html
  2. https://www.agingcare.com/articles/falls-in-elderly-people-133953.htm
  3. https://www.healthxchange.sg/seniors/ageing-concerns/fall-prevention-elderly
  4. https://www.ncoa.org/healthy-aging/falls-prevention/preventing-falls-tips-for-older-adults-and-caregivers/6-steps-to-protect-your-older-loved-one-from-a-fall/
  5. https://www.eatwellnutrition.com.au/preventing-malnutrition/falls-prevention-and-nutrition
  6. https://www.ensuremyanmar.com/eng/ensure-powder/
  7. https://www.hsph.harvard.edu/nutritionsource/healthy-eating-plate/

**   Olveira – 2016

^    IQVIA, using the ProVoice Survey, fielded 14,459 physicians from January 1, 2021 to December 31, 2021.

^^   Flakoll et al. Nutrition. 2004.

##  Berton et al. PLoS One. 2015.

#    Ensure Gold contains protein, Vitamin A, B6, B12, C, D, E, Folate and selenium, copper, zinc and iron, that help support the normal function of the immune system.

~    Ensure provides all-in-one nutrition and contains nutrients and ingredients to support muscle, bone, heart, immune and digestive tract health.