A new online program aims to reduce the number of falls among seniors by helping them improve their strength, balance, flexibility and endurance.
Between 20 and 30 per cent of people aged 65 and over suffer at least one fall each year, according to Canadian government data.
"If we can prevent falls, then we can not only improve the quality of life of the elderly, their autonomy and well-being, but also reduce the burden on the health care system," explained Dr. José Morais, director of the division of geriatrics at the McGill University Health Centre, who piloted the SAFE (Supporting Seniors for Fitness and Balance) website project, which provides seniors with a series of physical exercise videos to do at home to reduce their risk of falling.
The phenomenon of falls among older people is not trivial and the impact on their health can be considerable.
The Quebec institute of public health (INSPQ) calculates that seniors aged 65 and over accounted for 92 per cent of deaths from falls between 2000 and 2019. These same seniors accounted for 71 per cent of hospitalizations due to falls between 2011-2012 and 2020-2021.
Across Canada, falls are the leading cause of injury among seniors, and more than one-third of seniors hospitalized for a fall are managed in long-term care facilities upon discharge.
Half of all seniors who survive a hip fracture never fully recover their functional abilities, according to the Quebec government.
"There is a good chance that the senior who falls will relapse again within a year, so prevention is the thing to do," said Morais. "And prevention is largely through appropriate exercise. With exercise in elderly people at risk of falling, it has been shown to decrease the risk by about 40 or 50 per cent. There's literature that supports that."
The SAFE program, which was made possible by the financial support of the Montreal General Hospital Foundation, offers seniors accessible exercises based on the experience of practitioners as well as the literature, he adds.
"These exercises do not require any special equipment and can be done with the help of a caregiver, which will have the secondary benefit of breaking the isolation that many seniors suffer from," said Morais, "as well as having positive effects on sleep and concentration."
The program aims to break the "vicious circle" in which many seniors who are afraid of falling find themselves locked in: the more they are afraid of falling, the less active they are, and the less active they are, the more their physical and mental health deteriorates and the more likely they are to fall, Morais said.
The confinement imposed by the pandemic was a harsh illustration of the harmful effects of isolation, he said.
"The way to break this is through specific exercises for these older people that allow them to increase the strength and coordination of their lower limbs," said Morais. "And they realize this: afterwards, they are more able to mobilize themselves and we break the vicious circle; this is what the SAFE programme proposes."
This report by The Canadian Press was first published in French on Nov. 15, 2022.
