The most common factors are in the home
Among people over 65 years of age, falls are the primary cause of serious injuries and accidental death — everything from broken bones to traumatic brain injury. Statistically, if you’ve fallen once, your chances of falling again rise by a factor of two.
And even when falls do not cause injury, they tend to create a self-defeating downward spiral. People who have fallen fear falling again and tend to reduce their daily activities. Decreased activity causes further deterioration in lower-body strength, agility and reflexes. Loss of conditioning then increases the risk of falling again.
It’s a vicious cycle.