Why older Indians are more prone to dangerous falls

• Ramachandran R was an active 82-year-old doing brisk morning walks and gardening in the evenings. Till he tripped over his sleeping Lhasa Apso during a midnight bathroom visit and suffered a fractured hip in August last year. After surgery and many sessions of physiotherapy, he quit all outdoor activities.
• Saradha, 84, was cleaning her dining table when she fell and fractured her femur. Though the bone has healed since, she refuses to walk without a walker even within the house.

For older folks, falls are serious and even when the injuries heal, they can lead to a confidence crisis. According to the US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, more than one out of four adults who are 65 and above suffers a fall every year, and falling once doubles the chances of falling again. In India, most hospital records show fall cases among senior citizens are growing by the year.
“Even a minor fall can put them at great risk of injury, immobilise them, and cause serious health issues. It’s the second leading cause of unintentional injury deaths worldwide,” says geriatrician Dr S Deepa, director of the National Institute of Ageing in Guindy, Chennai. In the past year, it has reported 237 fracture cases due to falls in those over 60. “All these people fell inside homes,” she says, adding that generally 6 out of 10 falls in the elderly happen at home — in bathrooms, kitchens, or balconies.