Key points from today’s guests:

Dr. Steve Stites, chief medical officer, The University of Kansas Health System; executive vice chancellor, The University of Kansas Medical Center

• The CDC says among adults aged 65 and older, falls are the leading cause of fatal and non-fatal injuries and one in four people in that age group fall every year.
• Researchers at the Landon Center on Aging right here at The University of Kansas Medical Center recruited volunteers to fall on demand.
• Today we're meeting people studying how to take a tumble without seriously injuring yourself.
• We also look at every single fall in the clinic and in the hospital, because our goal is zero harm, which means zero falls in our place and we do not see one key cause – it is a number of different reasons.

Dr. Jessica Kalendar-Rich, geriatrician, The University of Kansas Health System

• There's chronologic age and there's functional age. There's the age that we are based on the day that we were born and how many years we've been alive. And then there is the age that our body is functioning at and that's how we decide who is at higher risk and lower risk for things related to physical changes as we age.
• Movement is medicine. Moving around is how we keep our bodies safe, how we keep our brains healthy, and how we prevent the negative effects of aging as best we can.
• Some of these simple balance tests actually can turn into exercises. There's really great data around tai chi and yoga as a really nice way to help with people's balance.
• These movement activities should be done when you are younger. Prevention of falls is key.

Dr. Jacob Sosnoff, Ph.D., associate dean for research, KU School of Health Professions

• There's been a tremendous amount of research focusing on how to prevent those falls, but the reality is that people are going to fall, so how can we help them minimize the damage when they do fall?
• We teach what we call “safe falling patterns” and we teach movement patterns that people can use to reduce the risk of those more serious injuries like fractures and head injuries.
• Falls are the leading causes of traumatic brain injury in older adults. Getting a traumatic brain injury as an older adult can lead to hospitalization and a really high death rate. And the best thing to do is to just tuck your head when falling.
  • Lower your body into a squat
  • Push your chin into your chest
  • Protect your head with your arms
  • Roll with the fall
  • Have a post-fall recovery plan
  • Practicing it gives you “muscle memory” to remember what to do when you actually fall.
  • Rolling when you fall can help reduce your risk of injury.

Mike Shepard, falling study participant

• At 77, he wants to make sure he avoids injury.
• Mike says he has issues with balance, so practicing falling is helpful so he can do it the right way.
• He really wanted to prioritize not hitting his head on falls.
• He said as we age, we become less confident on activities and that has to factor into how you fall.

Dr. Dana Hawkinson, medical director, Infection Prevention & Control, The University of Kansas Health System

• Overall influenza activity is very low around the nation and in our community, and covid activity is better than it was right now.
• In the Health System, we have 11 inpatients who have tested positive, so that is down distinctly from those double digits that we've had in the last few weeks.
• We never want to miss an opportunity to vaccinate.
• The influenza vaccines are available, but activity is low, so if you have good access to healthcare, you may be wanting to wait until the later part of the month, or early November, to get vaccinated and really have that immunity through the whole influenza season, which lasts through March or April.

Thursday, Oct. 17 at 8 a.m. is the next All Things Heart. The first of its kind in the region -- cardiovascular genetic counseling. Learn how you can use it to plan for the future and help manage your heart health right now.

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