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Helping Seniors To Not Slip And Fall On The Stairs

It’s no secret that, as we age, we tend to experience diminished strength and balance. As a result, many seniors take advantage of walking aids such as canes and walkers in order to help them keep upright. It simply cannot be underestimated just how much the risk of slips and falls is a major health hazard for seniors. As Elizabeth Payne of The Toronto Sun informs us, nearly one in three older Canadians fall every year.

“Ninety-five per cent of hip fractures among seniors are the result of a fall,” she writes, “Some falls shorten a senior’s lifespan, others lead quickly to death. Seniors who are admitted to hospital after a fall are sometimes forced to linger in hospital beds while awaiting a more suitable level of care. Those who return home can become isolated and less active, afraid of another fall. Their health and quality of life often deteriorates and the health system bears the burden.”

The stairs require extra special attention.

Obviously, staircases require some extra strength and a good sense of balance in order to climb. It’s hard enough for many seniors and individuals with mobility issues to safely walk from one area to another on flat surfaces. Ascending staircases, as you can imagine, can present some dangers for those who may not be steady on their feet.

What steps should be taken to make stairs safer?

Make sure your stairs are free of clutter. It may sound like a no-brainer but, for some people, stairs become storage spaces for books and bags that are casually placed down after returning home from work or school. Insisting upon a strict “nothing goes on the stairs” policy is an excellent way to make the staircases in your home much safer to walk up and down.

Is there a light switch at the top and bottom of your stairs? The Canada.ca website places this at the top of their list of questions asked as part of their “12 Steps To Stair Safety At Home”. The site advises homeowners to install lights and switches to ensure that all stairways in the home are well lit. Clearly, the better one is able to see in front of him/her while climbing the stairs, the easier it will be to see where he/she is going. A well lit staircase is a great fall preventer.

Let’s better the statistics!

“Between 2005 and 2013, according to the Public Health Agency of Canada, fall-related injuries among seniors increased from 49.4 to 58.8 per 1,000 people,” Payne informs us. At LifeCare Mobility Solutions, we definitely believe that this number can be significantly dropped. One of the many ways we are helping families all over the Greater Toronto Area to keep their loved ones safer is by installing stair lifts in their homes.

We offer both straight stair lifts, which are fitted to staircases with no bends, and curved stair lifts, which are fitted to staircases that have one or more bends and require custom designed curved rails. For more information, please don’t hesitate to call us at 647-350-4488 or email us at info@lifecaremobility.ca. You may also contact us by filling out the form on our Contact page!

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