Recovery Tips for Senior Falls


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Updated: September 23, 2018

Broken Hip Recovery Tips

Broken Hip Recovery Tips

The risk and frequency of falling increases with age. In fact, one out of three adults who are 65 and over will suffer from a fall. If the outcome of the fall is a broken hip, one’s health can take a downward spiral. Breaking a hip can trigger other problems and affect the elderly immune system. This makes senior proofing to prevent falls key.

If you or your loved one has experienced a fall and broken a hip, there are some important facts you should know. The road to recovery can be lengthy, but Medical Alert Advice has some tips to ease you or your loved one’s path to good health.

  1. Get surgery immediately! According to The Canadian Medical Association Journal, the risk of death decreased by 19 percent if you hip surgery was performed within three days of the injury.
  2. Take your prescribed medications. You will experience pain after your broken hip surgery. Don’t be shy about taking medication to manage your pain.
  3. Immediately after surgery, it is important to receive proper physical therapy. You can seek out in-home therapy or out-patient in a rehabilitation center.
  4. Hang in there. Physical therapy can be a challenge and even painful at times. Stick with your physical therapy, it will get better with each session.
  5. If you have not already, remove any fall risk factors from your home. Check out our home safety tips for seniors for some advice.
  6. Keep a positive attitude. It’s easy to feel sad after you’ve suffered loss of mobility. However, whenever you have a negative thought, replace it with something you are grateful for. It will help you keep a healthy state of mind. If you have extreme feelings of depression, seek out the advice from a medical health professional.
  7. Eat a well-balanced diet. It’s important to eat healthy when your exercise is limited. Make sure to load up on fiber-rich foods to prevent constipation.
  8. Adjust your wardrobe. Slip on shoes work best; even better if you can find them with nonslip soles. Button downs and loose-necked clothing will make getting dressed much easier.
  9. Have peace of mind by wearing a medical alert device. If you should suffer from another fall, help is only a button-push away.

 

Recovery could take up to a full year or longer.  Follow our tips to ensure a fast and healthy recovery.