New Brunswick doctors say there’s been an increase in the number of seniors injured from falls.
NB Trauma Program Interim Medical Director Dr. Tushar Pishe says there’s been a 26 per cent increase in injuries between 2010 and 2015.
“Most of the people getting admitted to the hospital with injuries are actually those that are seniors who have fallen,” Pishe said.
He says it accounts for 85 per cent of injury-related hospitalizations.
Pishe says that’s the reason behind bringing the Finding Balance Program to New Brunswick, which includes a website with online resources offering tips on how to stay safe.
In order to provide strategies to help lower this risk among seniors, the NB Trauma Program is committed to bringing the Finding Balance Program to New Brunswick.
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“The goal really is to keep our seniors safe and to keep them out of hospitals and lead active, mobile lives,” Pishe said.
The website offers advice and preventative measures seniors can take to stay safe, such as home safety tips, the importance of reporting dizziness and how exercise can help improve bone density and balance.
“Some of the things are very basic, like wearing the proper footwear or recommending certain activity programs, like ‘Dusty Sneakers’ for example, to keep people mobile and fit to prevent themselves from falling,” Pishe said.
Carol Doiron, 67, has several medical conditions including osteoarthritis, Type 2 diabetes and heart disease. Doiron spends an hour a day swimming laps with a flotation belt at the Saint John YMCA and says she’s regained balance since she started working out. Doiron says she’s fallen on ice before and ended up “black and blue.”
“I wasn’t moving at all and I was just getting stiffer and stiffer and I was prone to falls and I did fall,” Doiron said.
She says she was in a bad place and tells Global News it’s important for her to stay active to live. Aside from regaining balance and flexibility Doiron says she also lost more than 70 lbs. Her photo and details of her journey now hang on the wall at the facility.
“My balance is good now and if I do go and slip, like you can on black ice, I can catch myself.”
She says she also wears traction aids on her shoes during extremely icy conditions.
Greater Saint John YMCA president and CEO Shilo Boucher says it’s extremely important for seniors to stay active, especially to avoid the risk of falls.
“We try to encourage folks to take little steps to do what they can and soon enough they’ll be stronger and they’ll be amazed at what they can actually accomplish,” Boucher said.
Pishe says falls are also costly to the province’s health care system. He says falls among people of all ages cost $248 million.
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