Falls Risk Assessment & Fall Prevention Program

Did you know that the leading cause of hospitalisation for people over 65 is falls? At least one in four elderly people have a fall each year. Keilor Road Physiotherapy seeks to enhance opportunities for older people to engage in an affordable, high quality, results orientated and sustainable falls risk assessment and fall prevention program.

What is fall risk assessment 

A falls risk assessment is used to determine whether you are at a high, moderate or low risk of falling. Keilor Road Physiotherapy uses a specific assessment tool for falls, called Quickscreen. It looks at previous falls, medication usage, vision acuity, peripheral sensation, lower-limb strength, balance and co-ordination.

Risk for falls
There are many factors affecting falls in older adults. As we age, our ability to maintain our balance reduces, which is compounded by other factors such as:
- Reduced strength, particularly in the lower limbs
- Changes with walking, notably decreased stride length and inability to lift the foot
- Visual impairment
- Foot pain and arthritis
- Poor footwear
- Home environment, in particular uneven surfaces, stairs, rugs and clutter
- Medication, including sedatives, antidepressants and tranquilisers
- Osteoarthritis in the hips and knees
- Heart changes, particularly those that affect blood pressure
- Vitamin D deficiency

Ultimately, this leads to a decrease in confidence and can lead to isolation. Exercise targeting strength and balance, along with education including home safety intervention had been shown to decrease risk of falls and associated injury by 35% (1).

Who Can Access Falls Prevention?

Keilor Road Physiotherapy falls safety works for adults, older adults and people with a disability, including NDIS participants. For more information about NDIS physio at Keilor Road Physio.

We get proven results for those:

- Recovering from a near-fall
- Recovering from a recent fall
- Fearful in their home environment
- Declined walking ability or unsteadiness
- Experiencing sudden freezing
- Experiencing balance issues
- Fearful when walking
- Associated weakness

We are often engaged by elderly individuals, their loving families, NDIS participants, facility management, local area coordinators and GPs. We offer a NO GAP falls prevention program using Medicare Physiotherapy. Ask your GP about using a CDM or EPC for your program here at Keilor Road Physiotherapy. For more info use this link about Medicare Physiotherapy.

Falls prevention strategies in aged care

Similarly to falls prevention strategies in the community, Keilor Road Physiotherapy is well equipped to help prevent falls in the aged care setting. Importantly we can assist with:

• balance gait and strength training,

• environmental modifications to limit risk of tripping,

• consolidating medication,

• treating vision and hearing impairments and managing foot and footwear issues.

Keilor Road Physiotherapy Falls Prevention Program

First and foremost, we will listen to you. Meeting your goals is our priority. Our team of expert physiotherapists have advanced training, used to assess and diagnose your unique set of falls risk factors. We pride ourselves on providing detailed fall prevention education and a clear, concise explanation of what is contributing to your falls risk. All of our fall risk patients are provided with evidence based strategies to get proven results.

Our tailored Falls Prevention Program is a NO GAP service for Medicare participants. It includes:
• Quickscreen© falls risk assessment (2)
• Balance & mobility limitations assessment
• Individual 8 week balance & strength retraining program with proven results (1)
• Based over 5 in-clinic sessions
• Ongoing falls prevention classes to sustain benefits, supervised by expert physiotherapists

Our dedicated Physiotherapists are also able to decrease falls risk by:
• Improving walking style
• Advice about walking aids
• Reviewing the home environment

Falls prevention Classes

To supplement your 1:1 falls prevention sessions, we offer ongoing falls prevention classes in our onsite gym. These are specifically designed for those 65+ and run twice weekly. Class sizes are capped at 6 per class. We have the luxury of keeping participants 2m apart, with 4sqm per person. Each individual piece of exercise equipment is wiped down & the room disinfected to a surgical standard after every class.

FAQ

Fees and structure:
•Initial assessment & final review are 40 mins
•Subsequent sessions are 20mins
•NO GAP Medicare visits for all 5 falls prevention sessions*
•Ongoing falls prevention classes: 40mins = $15 each

*Ask your Doctor if you are eligible for a care plan to offset fees.

Home visits can be arranged by calling the clinic. Home visit rates apply.

How is progress monitored?

At the end of the initial 40 minute assessment, we’ll work together to come up with a tailored treatment plan aimed at achieving your goals. These will be set out over your 5 in-clinic visits, covering an 8 week period.

The individualised treatment plan is how we make the most meaningful difference. We’ll also provide a progress report to your referring Doctor outlining our collaborative plan and outcome measures, which can be shared with family members.

If we feel further referral is warranted for more specialised input, we can also liaise with your referring Doctor.

Servicing Niddrie, Essendon, Airport West, Keilor & the Northern suburbs for over 40 years, you can book with one of our highly trained Falls Prevention experts online below or call 93794557 to speak to one of our admin superstars.

References

(1) Campbell AJ, Robertson MC. Otago exercise programme to prevent falls in older adults. Wellington: ACC Thinksafe. 2003 Mar;3.

(2) Tiedemann A, Shimada H, Sherrington C, Murray S, Lord S. The comparative ability of eight functional mobility tests for predicting falls in community-dwelling older people. Age Ageing [Internet]. 2008 Jul;37(4):430–5.