Georgia Injury Law Blog
Fall accidents are extremely serious, especially when they involve the elderly.It is estimated that between 30% and 40% of all seniors will suffer a fall accident at least once every year.Our Atlanta slip and fall attorneys agree with research that also shows that many of these persons will never recover from their injuries, and many will have a much higher risk of dying in the 12 months following the fall accident.
Treatment for falls and fractures may be routine in the rest of the population but in the elderly, treatment is far more complicated and hard to predict.It’s the reason why it is so important to prevent fall accidents involving the elderly in the first place.
New research seems to suggest that daily doses of vitamin D supplements could actually help reduce the risk of fall accidents involving senior citizens.The research, which was published recently in the Annals of Internal Medicine, found that a daily dose of vitamin D supplements helped reduce the risk of fall accidents by as much as 17%.In the study, the subjects were given vitamin D supplements of around 800 international unit per day.The risks of suffering a fall accident was substantially reduced compared to people who did not take the supplements.
This is not the first time that the effect of vitamin D supplements in increasing muscle strength and preventing fall accidents has been analyzed as part of research into geriatric safety.Other geriatric groups are not so convinced that vitamin D is a magic pill that will help reduce the risk of fall accidents.For instance, the American Geriatric Society and the British Geriatrics Society, both only recommend that the supplements be considered as guidelines in reducing fall accidents.That falls short of an outright recommendation.
However, the United States Preventive Services Task Force has now made a recommendation on preventing fall accidents which also includes Vitamin D supplements daily.This is the first time that the group has outright embraced the use of vitamin D supplements in order to prevent accidents.The Preventive Services Task Force also recommends an exercise program in order to reduce the risk of falls.According to the task force, any appropriate exercise program should focus on strength training, aerobic moves, and balance exercises.
Our Georgia slip and fall lawyers can offer a few other tips to reduce the risk of fall accidents involving the elderly.Many accidents involving these persons occur in the home, when they trip over objects left lying around.One of the keys to preventing slip and fall accidents involving the elderly is to make sure that their walking surfaces are neat and clutter-free.All objects must be removed from the floor.Another common venue for slip and fall accidents is the bathroom.Shower rails, grab bars and bath mats absolutely should be used in bathrooms to reduce the risk of fall accidents.