Fractured hips and broken pelvises—let’s hope they’re not a one-way ticket to the nursing home for many older people. The American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons has some important information and tips for preventing falls and hip fractures in America’s aging population.

In the United States, more than 11 million senior citizens fall each year—making falls the leading cause of injuries to our senior population.

Falls can occur anytime, anyplace, and to anyone while doing simple, everyday activities such as climbing stairs or getting out of a bathtub. The number of falls and the severity of injury increase with age.

These medical conditions may increase risk of falling:

• Impaired musculoskeletal function, gait abnormality, and osteoporosis
• Cardiac arrhythmias (irregular heartbeat), blood pressure fluctuation
• Depression, Alzheimer’s disease, and senility
• Arthritis, hip weakness, or imbalance
• Neurologic conditions, stroke, Parkinson’s disease, multiple sclerosis
• Urinary and bladder dysfunction
• Vision or hearing loss
• Cancer that affects bones

Follow these safety tips to prevent a fall:

• Get an annual physical and eye examination, particularly an evaluation of cardiac and blood pressure problems.
• Maintain a diet with adequate dietary calcium and vitamin D.
• Do not smoke, and avoid excessive use of alcohol.
• Participate in an exercise program for agility, strength, balance, and coordination.
• Eliminate all tripping hazards in your home. Install grab bars, handrails, and other safety devices.
• Wear properly fitting shoes with nonskid soles.
• Never walk in your stocking feet.

Make your home fall-safe:

• Place a lamp, telephone, and flashlight near your bed.
• Sleep on a bed that is easy to get in to and out of.
• Arrange clothes in your closet so they are easy to reach.
• Install a night-light along the route between your bedroom and the bathroom.
• Keep all areas of the house clutter free.
• Arrange furniture so you have a clear pathway between rooms.
• Install easy-access light switches at entrances to rooms so you won’t have to walk into a darkened room in order to turn on the light. Glow-in-the-dark switches may be helpful.
• Don’t sit in a chair or on a sofa that is so low it is difficult to stand up.
• Immediately clean up any liquids, grease, or food spilled on the floor.
• Install grab bars on the bathroom walls.
• Stabilize yourself on the toilet by using either a raised seat or a special toilet seat with armrests.
• Use a sturdy plastic seat in the bathtub if you cannot lower yourself to the floor of the tub or if you are unsteady.

For more information on hip fractures and falls prevention, visit Your Orthopaedic Connection.