Physician urges preventive action to reduce fall injuries among elderly

 

As Jamaica's population continues to age, a general family practitioner is urging greater public awareness and preventive action to reduce fall-related injuries and deaths among the elderly. 

 

Speaking Monday on the Morning Agenda on Power 106, Dr. Garth Rattray said falls are the leading cause of injuries and deaths in people 65 and older in Jamaica and globally. 

 

Dr. Rattray says one of the main contributors to falls is sarcopenia, which is a significant loss of skeletal muscle with age. 

 

Dr Rattray notes that muscle mass peaks around age 30 begins to decline after 40 and accelerates significantly after 65. This loss affects balance, mobility and the ability to perform everyday tasks, making older adults more vulnerable to falling.

 

"It accelerates instances of people who don't use them enough or have chronic diseases; being quiet, not moving around, not doing anything to make their muscles stronger. That sarcopenia will lead to osteopenia and osteoporosis, because bones...bleed when you cut them or when they break and they get brittle if you don't put pressure on them, like using something as resistance exercises, which most people don't do. 

 

"Aerobics, walking and stuff, that's okay, that's great. It's necessary, but if you don't use strength, if you don't have some resistance, the muscles will get weaker, ligaments, tendons and the bones will also become brittle," he warned.

 

Meanwhile, Dr. Rattray called for the government to put policies in place to make exercise more accessible in nursing homes. He said during his visits to these facilities, he rarely sees anyone helping seniors to exercise. Bringing in an outside physiotherapist to come at an additional cost to elderly residents.

 

"Nursing homes, for instance, should have exercise programmes - even the bed, even sitting down, even in a wheelchair, something, because it's terrible to watch people just deteriorate physically and then mentally and they just pass away," he lamented.

 

Dr. Rattray also pointed to what he described as the vicious cycle of sarcopenia in which the muscles become weak, people move less until they end up bedridden, then they develop pressure sores or ulcers, which can lead to death if they become infected and septic. 

 

Apart from resistance exercise, the risk of sarcopenia can be reduced through proper nutrition, managing home hazards such as loose rugs and toys, installing grab rails and ensuring safe walkways indoors and outdoors.