Everyone should aspire to stay active and healthy as they get older. Indeed, we are seeing more and more active seniors enjoying everyday life and physical activity in our communities, and it is inspiring. One possible side effect of all this that we as concussion and traumatic brain injury (TBI) specialists have a concern about is in increase in concussions in older adults. A recent finding by the Centers for Disease Control and Infection (CDC) reported an increase of 30% in TBIs over the past decade, with more than 36 million falls each year among adults 65 and older. What’s more, the CDC found that severe falls and motor-vehicle accidents resulted in the majority of TBI-related deaths among older adults.
We know there are ways to reduce these accident numbers, and we want to get the word out.
Traumatic Brain Injuries and Concussions in Older Adults Are on the Rise
Unintentional injuries—which are injuries that are not premeditated or foreseen, such as falls and car accidents—account for two of the top 10 causes of deaths among seniors, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Infection (CDC). In fact, the CDC reports that falls and motor vehicle accidents, in particular, result in the majority of traumatic brain injury (TBI) deaths among older adults.
The CDC’s Still Going Strong program focuses on helping people reduce injuries as they age, including the number of concussions and brain injuries. While TBIs resulting from falls or other jolts to the head can be severe, most are fortunately milder, what we more commonly call concussions. That being said, the majority of brain-injury-related deaths among older adults are still the result of severe falls and motor-vehicle accidents. The government data also shows that those seniors who do survive a traumatic brain injury can face adverse effects lasting anywhere from a few days to a few months, or even for the rest of their lives.
Six Practical Fall Prevention Tips to Help Avoid Concussions in Older Adults
According to the World Health Organization, falls are one of the leading causes of unintentional deaths, with adults over 60 suffering the greatest number of fatal falls. This does not mean that falls cannot be reduced in senior populations, however. In addition to the CDC’s Still Going Strong Program, the Mayo Clinic’s Healthy Lifestyle/Healthy Aging website offers practical tips and advice to keep older adults from falling. We’ve collected some of the best suggestions from these resources below.
1. Communicate with Your Doctor
You and your doctor are a team when it comes to reducing head injuries as you age. Here are some things this team should be doing:
- Discuss your overall health with your doctor, including your fall history.
- Make sure your eyes are checked at least once a year, and eyeglasses updated as needed.
- Review current medications for possible side effects that could increase your fall risk.
- Talk frankly about activities you are doing or would like to start that may have a head-injury risk to them, and discuss safest ways to participate. (Maybe #RockYourHelmet?)
- Your doctor will evaluate your strength, balance and gait and can also determine if seemingly unrelated conditions (depression or hypotension, for example) could increase your risk of falling.
2. Keep Active as Much as Possible
Your doctor or physical therapist can suggest activities or custom exercises to help improve balance, flexibility, strength and gait. Exercise can give us energy, help decrease blood pressure and heart rate, enhance moods and even help us sleep better. And strengthening those muscles, improving gait, balance and overall stamina can help us avoid accidental falls. A long-term study published in American Journal of Medicine also noted how exercise interventions in older adults improve muscle mass and potentially increase survival in well, older adults.
3. Wear the Proper Shoes for the Activity You’re Doing
Tripping while simply walking can have disastrous effects for older adults. Wearing high-heeled or slick-soled shoes, floppy slippers and or walking in stocking feet are considered potential hazards in the home. More “sensible” shoes (properly fitting, sturdy with non-skid soles) may also even help reduce joint pain, according to the Arthritis Foundation.
4. Remove Household Hazards
Some of the following tips may seem like common sense, but many households fail to address these potential hazards. Examples of ways to reduce household hazards include:
- Remove excess furniture in high-traffic areas.
- Use nonslip bathmats.
- Secure or even removing loose rug.
- Clean up spills promptly.
- Arrange for repairs of loose floorboards and carpeting can also help older adults (and any of us!) avoid accidents and falls.
5. Light Up Your Home
Brightly lit homes help us avoid tripping. Lighting that can help includes:
- Night lights in the bedroom, bathroom and hallways
- Easy-to-reach bedside lamps
- Extra flashlights kept are on hand in easy-to-find spots (with batteries that work)
- Glow in the dark/illuminated light switches, instead of traditional ones
6. Use Assistive Devices as Required
If your physician tells you that canes and walkers are recommended or required, don’t hesitate to use them. These items are meant to give you more independence, not less, by reducing harmful falls and accidents. And that goes for other assistive devices too, which include:
- Handrails on both sides of the stairway
- Raised toilet seats
- Shower/tub grab bars
- Plastic seats in the shower or tub
You can also check your local pharmacy or medical supply store for numerous, handy gadgets like buttoning aid hooks, sock aids, long-handled shoehorns and much more.
Behind the Wheel Accidents Account for Additional Head Injuries and More
The CDC notes that there are over 46 million senior licensed drivers in the United States (about 1 in 5 drivers on the road), and that the risk of being injured or killed in a motor vehicle crash increases as we age. In fact, each day, 700 older adults are injured in a motor vehicle crash and 22 die because of their injuries.
Why is this happening? As we age, our vision and the cognitive functions responsible for reasoning and remembering decline, which can affect driving abilities. Other contributing factors to senior vehicular crash rates may include medical issues like sleep disorders, medication side effects and hearing impairment.
Concussions in Older Adults and Driving Impairment
Even mild traumatic brain injuries can affect your brain functioning, at least temporarily. While symptoms like headache, drowsiness, dizziness or nausea often appear immediately, some symptoms may not show up for days or weeks. That’s why it’s always important to see a concussion/TBI specialist if you or your senior loved one has received a blow to the head. As the Mayo Clinic notes, even “a mild injury to the brain is still a serious injury that requires prompt attention and an accurate diagnosis.”
Driving Tips to Keep Safer
Tips to keep older drivers safer on the road include basic road advice like maintaining safe speeds and keeping safe distances between vehicles. In addition, senior drivers should also:
- Make sure medications taken before driving do not cause drowsiness.
- Have regular eye and medical exams.
- Limit nighttime driving.
- Plan trips to avoid rush-hour traffic.
- Avoid bad weather when travelling.
Staying Healthy and Safe to Avoid Head Injuries
As we age, there are countless benefits to keeping healthy. One of them, for sure, is that it will help reduce the risk of falls and accidents that can lead to concussions. For more information on how to avoid traumatic brain injuries and other injuries from unintentional mishaps, visit the CDC’s Still Going Strong, a national campaign that focuses on injury prevention among older adults.
If you suspect you or a loved one has had a fall or accident that could have caused a concussion or even more severe traumatic brain injury, make sure to see a doctor well versed in concussions and brain injury symptoms and treatments.
To find a MAC Alliance concussion specialist near you, click here. Our growing network of certified medical professionals, including physicians, nurse practitioners, physician assistants, school nurses, chiropractors, physical therapists, and athletic trainers stay on top of the latest assessment, diagnostic and treatment protocols to help patients of all ages with concussion and other traumatic brain injuries.
MAC Brain Health Cart Can Monitor and Screen for Concussions in Older Adults
We are proud to offer the new MAC Brain Health Cart, a truly portable, accurate and easy-to-administer system created to offer other practitioners speedy access to some of our most advanced neurocognitive and vestibular screening, diagnosis and treatment technology, as well as the expert medical team at MAC Alliance. It is available at many MAC Centers in the Mid-Atlantic region, and can also be leased directly by schools, senior care facilities, chiropractic offices, physical therapy practices, urgent care centers, etc. —just about anywhere fast, accurate and reliable brain health monitoring is needed. If you are interested in finding out more about the new MAC-Cart, please contact us today.
—Reporting by Faith R. Foyil
