New exercise program sees 40% reduction in resident falls

Posted 24th March 2023

St Vincent's Carseldine residents participated in the program for 52 weeks

In an outstanding result, a team of physiotherapists and assistants have seen a near 40% decrease in falls in 46 residents after the implementation of an internationally renowned falls prevention program at St Vincent’s Care Carseldine.

Through a combination of group and individual sessions, Vijay and her team from Encara Health have improved the quality of life and helped in preventing falls that threaten the livelihood of aged care residents. With falls being the leading cause of injury, hospital admission and death for people over the age of 65, St Vincent’s Care take their prevalence very, very seriously.

Simple exercises like these are making all the difference for elderly residents at St Vincent's Care Carseldine

With 1.4 million older Australians having falls each year, with two thirds of people expected to fall again within six months, effective management and preventions of falls is essential to the wellbeing of older Australians. But, through following the internationally renowned Otago Falls Prevention program (and exercises including the above), they saw outstanding improvements in the mobility of residents including:

The results for the program have been outstanding

One area that Vijay wanted to mention particularly was the residents that were rehabbing broken (or fractured) hips. “There were few residents who came with broken hips from hospital, and were not able to manage at home, so that's why they have to come to one of our facilities,” says Vijay. “Earlier they were walking with their walkers, we did intensive rehab and now they are back to their mobility level.”

The sad reality isolder Australians are 3.5 times more likely to pass away within 12 months with a hip fracture than without. With approximately 93% of new hip fractures being caused by a fall, an adequate program focusing on fall prevention can be a life changing and/or lifesaving endeavour.

The current research from Otago Fall Prevention and Exercise Program shows the improvements for residents in both the frequency of falls and their overall balance, not only can they recover from hip injuries, but they can also prevent them too.

We encourage all older Australian at risk of falls to take a proactive approach to their physiological wellbeing. If you are over 65, please consider getting a plan from a physiotherapist near you and start maintaining fall prevention at home.