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Abstract
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INTRODUCTION: Among the reasons described as possibly causing falls in older and elderly people are extrinsic factors such as bumping into objects, slipping on a wet floor, etc., and intrinsic factors - those that occur suddenly without warning.
OBJECTIVES: To investigate the connection between the reasons for falls, extrinsic or intrinsic and different medical and nonmedical factors.
METHODS: The survey included 82 people, 53 women and 29 men, who fell and broke their hip, underwent surgery, and were treated at the Rehabilitation Department. Data showed that 39 people fell due to extrinsic factors and 43 due to intrinsic reasons. We examined the correlation with several factors, both medical and non-medical, that may have influenced the scenario of each group.
RESULTS: Falls due to extrinsic reasons took place at all hours of the day and night, mainly in people who were alone and who wore shoes or sandals at the time of the fall and who either suffered from slight or no disturbances in attention and concentration. Falls due to intrinsic reasons occurred mainly during rest or sleep hours, in people who walked barefoot or with socks or slippers and who suffered moderate or severe disturbances in attention and concentration.
CONCLUSIONS: Although the differences in the extrinsic vs. intrinsic reasons for falls that led to broken hips were fairly clear, it would be difficult to recommend new tools for prevention of this phenomenon. Trying to predict an infrequent future event such as a traumatic fall is inherently difficult.
Language: he |