Fall Prevention Screening

 

The Diagnosis Foundation (DxF) will be doing a Fall Prevention screening at the Sayville Public Library.  There are many factors contributing to falls, including:

• Vision impairment
• Obstructed environment
• Equilibrium or inner ear impairment
• Decreased proprioception (sensory awareness of body and joint position)
• Decreased overall muscle strength & control
• Decreased individual muscle strength or symmetry

There are diagnostic tests to look at each of these factors separately or in groups.  This screening will involve a brief assessment of overall risk of falling assessment along with a more in depth look at individual muscle strength and control.  Each person will be screened on muscle strength symmetry and control of 12 individual muscles in each leg.

Each screen takes 15 minutes to complete and participants with abnormal findings will be referred to their own health care providers for follow up.  Participants without providers or those needing recommendations for physicians who do individual muscle strength testing, differential diagnosis or treatment will be referred to the DxF DxProvider data base.

This screening is free but scheduling an appointment is highly recommended.

Importance: “Unintentional falls are a common occurrence among older adults, affecting approximately 30% of persons aged >65 years each year.” (1)  In the US, “in 2003, a total of 13,700 persons aged >65 years died from falls, and 1.8 million were treated in emergency departments (EDs) for nonfatal injuries from falls.” (2)