Senior Care Center Article Discusses the Aspects of Dementia and How it Relates to Elderly Falls

Senior Care Center is a free online resource that helps families find long-term care facilities for their elderly loved ones. This online-based service also publishes many helpful blog articles that address elderly concerns. One of the latest of which is an article that discusses dementia and how this condition relates to elderly falls. This respected online resource knows this is an important topic as some 13.9% of Americans over 71 suffer from dementia and that increases to a whopping 37.4% in those over 90. The above-referenced article can be seen in its entirety here at https://srcarecenter.com/memory-care/dementia-and-elderly-falls/.

The article that was written by Casey Rydbick, a respected author for this web resource, started by saying that the most common cause of dementia is Alzheimer’s Disease. This is a progressive neurodegenerative disease that impacts the lives of some 2.4 million seniors over the age of 70. The article stated that other common causes of dementia are brain lesions caused by a stroke, Parkinson’s Disease, Lewy Body Dementia, and other forms of brain damage. It also talked about how dementia causes many problems which include a greater risk of falling, one of the leading causes of morbidity among older adults. The elderly are especially vulnerable when falling because how bones become more brittle as people age and this can result in serious injuries such as broken hips. The article acknowledged that while there certainly are other environmental, physical, and mental conditions that can cause an elderly person to fall, few are as prevalent as falls relating to dementia.

The article went on to discuss how dementia impairs gait and balance. It states that abnormal walking patterns are often caused by neurological problems and dementia falls squarely into this category. Walking is much more than just a musculoskeletal-related task because it requires assistance from the brain to plan and carry out. Those who use this resource will also come to find in the article that dementia can interfere with this action and that’s what often leads an elderly person who has it to be more prone to falling. The article also pointed out that dementia is often associated with a class of symptoms called ‘gait apraxia’. Patients with gait apraxia have much difficulty when it comes to coordinating limb movements. The elderly who suffer from severe forms of this condition even have trouble with simple movements such as going from a sitting to a standing position. The blog article talked about how this can lead to a situation where a walker is needed for an elderly person to stabilize themselves as they move. It even mentioned that those with dementia-related gait apraxia also often have impaired functions that oversee attention, task switching, and metacognition. When these functions are diminished it can further increase an elderly dementia sufferer’s chances of falling. The Senior Care Center blog stated that clinical depression in combination with dementia can also be a factor in elderly falls.

The blog article wrapped up by talking about how to prevent falls for elderly persons that suffer from dementia. Some of the remedies that were mentioned include the installation of handrails in bathrooms where the elderly often need to perform a wide variety of movements to function. It was also stated that elderly persons suffering from dementia should have walkers or other assistive devices such as wheelchairs made available to them. Those with severe cases of dementia may even require constant physical support from family members, health aides, or assisted living personnel to walk safely.

Rydbick went on to say that they are always available to discuss the information in the articles that they post on their website and to help families from all over the nation perfectly match elderly loved ones to senior homes that sufficiently meet their needs. Those that would like more information about the Senior Care Center and its purpose can refer to their website or go to their Facebook Page which is located at https://www.facebook.com/SrCareCenter.