Although fracturing our hips can happen to anyone, this kind of incident, however, is common among the elders. In fact there are a lot of things that can cause broken hip in elderly to happen. So for us to understand more about this problem, let us try to identify the important facts about broken hip or hip fracture.
Most of us would usually take hip fractures lightly. However, hip fractures can also result to severe complications that could even lead to death especially among the late adults. Recent statistics have also shown that out of 10 broken hip cases, 9 of them occur in people that are age 60 and above. According to Sandy B. Ganz, PT, DSc, GCS of the Amsterdam Nursing Home, the incidence or risk of hip fractures increases every 5 years pass the age of 50. In fact, 1 out of 4 women and 1 out of 8 men are expected to have fractured hips once they reach the age of 90.
Broken hip among the elderly is something that we should not take for granted. These fractures are even considered as critical ailments that are usually entailed with life-endangering complications. Although surgeries and hip operations can fix and repair the damage, the recovery is said to take an entire year to process. One of the most common causes of these fractures in the elderly is due to accidents. Most aged individuals are already poor in coordination and are becoming weaker and weaker. Because of this, they are more prone to experiencing house accidents such as falling or sliding. Once this occurs, their bones are in more risk of having damages due to weakness and certain medical conditions such as osteoporosis.
Below are some of the most common risk factors of broken hip that we should all be aware of.
• Sex – although hip fractures can happen to anyone, this kind of condition is more prone to women. This is due to the fact that women’s bone loses more density in comparison to men, which is linked to the decrease in estrogen level once menopause sets in.
• Medical conditions – some medical conditions can also lead to the occurrence of hip fractures. One of the most common is none other than osteoporosis. Osteoporosis is a bone problem that makes bone more fragile and weak. This allows makes the bone easy to get fractures.
• Nutrition – another factor that can affect hip fractures is nutrition. As we all know, poor nutrition can definitely lead to weaker and more fragile bones. Once this occurs, bones are already at high risk for damages.
• Heredity – small-boned and small-framed people like the Asians are more prone to having osteoporosis. Because of this, they are also more prone to having hip problems.
• Alcohol and Smoking – these things are also known to increase the speed of bone density.
These are just some of the most common risk factors of broken hip especially among the elderly. Now that we are all aware of these, it is our duty to prevent this condition from happening by applying what we have gained in knowledge in order to avoid putting ourselves, especially the old adults, always at high risk.
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