Characterising falls risk factors and health care utilisation in patients with a low trauma wrist fracture attending a physiotherapy clinic

TL;DRAbstract

<strong>Introduction: </strong>Ireland's population is ageing and falls continue to be the most common cause of injury for those aged over 65. International guidelines recommend screening of low-risk falls patients in order to prevent significant impairments in the future. Mallmin et al (1993) stated that distal radius fractures occur on average 15 years prior to a hip fracture. <strong>Aims and Objectives: </strong>The aim of this study was to characterise multifactorial falls risk factors in subjects who had sustained a low trauma wrist fracture and identify their health care utilisation. <strong>Methods: </strong>This was a case-control, observational study which involved recruitment of 41 consecutive adults between 55 and 80 years who sustained a low trauma wrist fracture. For comparison 41 healthy controls were also recruited. A comprehensive multi-factorial falls assessment was performed on both groups. <strong>Results: </strong>The mean age of the female cases (n=36) was 68.19±

Chat with Paper

AI Agents for this Paper