Many people worry about older adults falling while they’re out of the house, but the truth is that most senior falls happen at home—and many at-home falls are preventable.
Here’s the good news: that means that, if you know what to do and who to ask for help, you can significantly reduce fall risk for your loved one. In addition to avoiding injury, fall prevention improves confidence, helps them stay engaged with the activities that matter most and impacts many other health outcomes.
Fortunately, there are plenty of fall prevention resources in Ann Arbor. Here are a few of our favorites:
Top Resources for Senior Fall Prevention in Ann Arbor
From skilled contractors and handymen to landscaping services that keep yards and walkways clear, Ann Arbor has no shortage of ways to reduce older adults’ fall risk. Here are some of the best options.
Upgrade Their Home
When older adults fall at home, it’s most often due to some sort of tripping hazard like slippery tiles, hard-to-see stairs or objects lying in walkways. With a few repairs and well-placed improvements, you can make your loved one’s home meet their mobility needs, reducing their fall risk and helping them get around the house with confidence.
Here are some common things to look out for:
- Tripping hazards. Objects lying on the ground or protruding in pathways can trip seniors, especially at night. (Pet toys are common culprits.)
- Dark walkways at night. It’s easy for seniors to lose track of where they are with the lights off. Night lights can help them get their bearings.
- Stairs. Stairs can be hard to see when the lights are low, so it’s easy to trip over them. Try adding reflective high-traction strips to make them more visible and less slippery.
- Sitting areas. Sitting down and standing up can be precarious. It’s a good idea to install some grab bars in spots where they do so frequently (especially bathrooms).
Many of these improvements are simple enough to install on your own if you’re local. If you’re not, however, it’s a good idea to call a handyman service like A2 Handyman. You can send them photos or videos to make sure they know what your loved one needs.
Handle the Yard Work
They say that gardening is good for the soul, but bad for the back. There’s a lot of truth to that. Yard and garden work can be an incredibly rewarding pursuit for seniors, not to mention a fantastic workout, but it’s very easy for them to overdo it if they’re not careful. Both tend to involve a lot of bending, squatting and lifting. In moderation, those kinds of movements can help older adults maintain their strength and mobility, but they can lead to injuries if done too long or too intensely.
It’s great for your loved one to spend time outdoors, but it’s also important for them to know their limits—and to find them a landscaping service like Good Guys Lawn & Landscape. In addition to handling jobs that are better suited for younger hands and backs, they can also keep the yard free of tripping hazards like tall grass and branches.
Landscaping services are especially important during winter. Shoveling snow is quite hazardous for seniors, so it’s best to handle it quickly—before they give it a try themselves. With the right subscription, many landscaping services will swing by proactively to ensure your loved one’s walks, steps and driveways remain clear.
Keep it On the Bright Side
Dark walkways are a common culprit for falls in the home, which is why installing additional lighting is so important for fall prevention. Ensure they have a light source within reach of their bed and night lights or light strips—as long as they’re low to the ground—installed in high-traffic areas, like between their bedroom and the restroom.
If your loved one’s home doesn’t have electrical outlets in the proper places or they’d like specific lighting, an electrician can help. It’s also good to have a trusted repairperson on speed dial in general. Many tasks, like gardening, are great for seniors to do in moderation, but there are many they should stay well away from. Plumbing and heating aren’t quite as risky as electrical work, but they’re still technical and physically demanding for most people to handle on their own.
As high-priority issues of this sort tend to arise unexpectedly, look for a trustworthy electrician, plumber and HVAC service ahead of ttime—or, to make life simpler, find a one-stop shop for all three like Haley Mechanical. You can even schedule regular maintenance visits to ensure everything is running smoothly to minimize the odds that something breaks down on a cold winter night.
Get Help With Fall Prevention for Older Adults in Ann Arbor
Most senior falls happen in or around the home, but with the right resources, most of them are preventable. From help with home repairs and improvements to reduce tripping hazards to professionals that can help with yardwork and serious maintenance tasks, Ann Arbor has plenty of resources to help with fall prevention for older adults.
One of the best ways to help seniors stay on their feet is to give them a trusted companion—that’s where FirstLight Home Care of Ann Arbor comes in. Our reliable caregivers can make sure older adults always have a steady arm to lean on throughout their day. They can also make sure walkways stay clear of obstructions and handle many everyday tripping hazards.
Want to learn more about how we can help older adults keep their footing? Contact us today.
