Is osteoarthritis a risk for falls?
Is osteoarthritis a risk for falls?
Osteoarthritis (OA) does more than make your joints sore and stiff. Damage to your knees and hips can also interfere with your balance and mobility, increasing your risk for a fall and making you more likely to fracture a bone in the process. About half of people with OA report having fallen in the past year.
How are falls related to osteoarthritis in the elderly?
The relationship between falls and OA is further complicated by the large variations in criteria used to determine the presence of OA. Elderly patients with knee and hip OA adopt different compensatory biomechanical strategies while walking. Typically patients with unilateral hip OA develop a Trendelenburg’s gait.
Are there more falls in older people with OA?
The statistical evidence for falls in older patients with OA summarized above therefore remains unclear. Older women with symptoms of hip pain, knee pain and clinical diagnosis of OA appear to have increased risk of falls. The evidence for falls in older men with symptoms or clinical diagnosis remains uncertain.
How many older women have hip osteoarthritis?
In a large cohort study involving 5,552 women aged 65 and older, 60.6% had self-reported, physician diagnosed arthritis, with only 11.6% having radiographic evidence of hip OA.
What are the risk factors for osteoarthritis?
Osteoarthritis is a common degenerative disorder of the articular cartilage associated with hypertrophic bone changes. Risk factors include genetics, female sex, past trauma, advancing age, and obesity. The diagnosis is based on a history of joint pain worsened by movement, which can lead to disability in activities of daily living.
The relationship between falls and OA is further complicated by the large variations in criteria used to determine the presence of OA. Elderly patients with knee and hip OA adopt different compensatory biomechanical strategies while walking. Typically patients with unilateral hip OA develop a Trendelenburg’s gait.
Why do so many women have osteoarthritis past age 50?
Many women past age 50 discover OA is the reason for their creaking knees, aching backs, and sore fingers. Suddenly life is all about osteoarthritis — but luckily, arthritis doesn’t have to take control.
The statistical evidence for falls in older patients with OA summarized above therefore remains unclear. Older women with symptoms of hip pain, knee pain and clinical diagnosis of OA appear to have increased risk of falls. The evidence for falls in older men with symptoms or clinical diagnosis remains uncertain.
Who is more likely to fall due to arthritis?
In a 2015 Arthritis Care & Research study, people with pain in one lower joint – their knee or hip – were 53 percent more likely to fall. Those with two affected joints had a 74 percent higher chance, and people with three to four painful joints were 85 percent more likely to fall.