Falls Prevention Seniors are one of the most at risk groups of people for falls. This can be due to many different factors. Some of the most widely recognized are poor health, decreased strength, poor balance, poor vision and altered mental state. Any one of these factors can result in a fall. In most cases it’s a combination of several of these factors that puts seniors at most risk. A fall can lead to a whole range of different injuries. This includes sprains and strains. It also includes more serious injuries such as dislocations, or fractures. Falls can exacerbate pre-existing health conditions. This could lead to heart attacks or strokes from the trauma. Previous falls can also lead to substantial fear of falling. This can prevent people from venturing outside the home and being active. This in turn, can lead to a poor quality of life. Falls prevention is a…

osteoarthritisOsteoarthritis Osteoarthritis is a degenerative condition that is characterized by the loss of cartilage. It most often affects the weight bearing joints of the hips, knees, spine and feet. It can also be found in the fingers and thumb. The job of cartilage is to absorb forces through the joints. It tries to protect the bones from rubbing against each other. As the cartilage starts to wear out or thin down, it loses its elasticity and is easily damaged by injury or use. If there is a lot of cartilage loss, it can cause changes to the underlying bone in several ways: -bone may thicken and cysts may form -bone spurs may develop near the end of the bone -bits of cartilage or bone can float in the joint space -the joint lining may become inflamed which can lead to further cartilage loss and bone damage…