Everything Flashcards
What is the role of a physio with regards to falls?
- Fall prevention
- Harm prevention
- Risk identification and assessment
- Falls plan develop
- Intervention strategies
- Equipment
Falls and its effects on hips?
20% mortality rate at 12 months
<50% will return to pre-# function
What percentage of falls in older people cause neck of femur #?
25%
Financial burden of Falls- Cost of Falls?
Roughly $4000 per stay, exceeds road trauma
What does a fear of falling do?
Leads to decreased activity, which decreases balance, increases weakness and risk of falls.
Fall Assessment Algorithm. What does it include?
If only 0-1 falls, check for balance and vision. If recurrent, then do full assessment which includes
- History
- Vision
- Gait and balance
- Lower limb joints
Taking a history of falls. What is the acronym?
SPLATT
Symptoms of time at all
Previous number of falls
Location of falls
Activity engaging in at time of fall
Time of day of falls
Trauma sustained during fall
Falls Assessments- Neurological. When looking for UMN or LMN pathologies, what do you assess?
Tone
Reflexes
Proprioception
Sensation
Coordination
Vision
Fall Assessment- Vision. What do you check for?
Visual acuity
Depth perception
Contrast sensivity
Multifocal lens can cause falls
Fall Assessment- Lower limb joint. What do you test for?
Range of motion
Strength
- Weak tib ant implicated in falls
- MMT vs Functional assessment
Muscle length
Fall Assessment- Cardiovascular. What do you measure?
Blood pressure- Done both supine and standing after 2 minutes
Pulse- rate and rhythm.
Fall Assessment- Gait and analysis. What does it include?
Gait- General observation. Initiation, foot clearance, step symmetry, dual tasking.
Fall Assessment- Gait and analysis. Whats an objective measure for gait?
DGI- Dynamic Gait Index. <19 out of 24, indicative of high falls risk
Falls Assessment- Balance. What tests to use?
TUG- Timed up and go >13.5 second = 90 accurate in predicting falls
BBS- Berg Balance Scale.
Step Test
Falls Prevention and Management- Low Risk Fallers. What is this stage called and what do you promote?
‘Immunisation stage’
Promote weight bearing, balancing challegning or strengthening exercise.
Promote nutrition- Calcium, Vitamin D or diabetes management
Falls Risk. What dose of exercise?
2 x weekly for 6 months.
Falls Prevention- What exercises to improve?
Pilates
Tai Chi
Otago
Dementia- Definition
A syndrome that causes a progressive decline in a persons functioning, including loss of memory and the ability to reason and learn. Loss of four things
- Personality
- Loss of intellectual capacity
- Memory
- Perform ADL’s