Don’t take it seriously! Elderly falls and fractures may become ‘deadly crisis’

The seemingly ordinary and trivial matter of “falling down” may be a fatal blow to the elderly. According to statistics, my country’s population over the age of 60 has exceeded 200 million, making it the country with the largest absolute number of elderly people in the world. With the aging of the population, osteoporosis and mobility problems and easy falls are the main reasons why the elderly are prone to fractures.

Fractures and bedridden misery

Mr. Sun (pseudonym), who is over 70 years old, accidentally slipped and fell at home more than 20 days ago, and fell on his left hip He was injured and did not dare to move, and a “left femoral intertrochanteric fracture” was diagnosed in a foreign hospital. Considering that the elderly suffer from diseases such as pemphigus, atrial fibrillation, osteoporosis, etc., and have been treated with hormones for a long time, the weight base is large. But after the old man lay in bed for more than ten days, not only did the pain not relieve, but it became significantly worse, which seriously affected the quality of life and became restless. The old man and his wife felt that “dragging” was not the way to go. After many inquiries, they came to the West District of Qingdao Municipal Hospital and found Director Xie Sixin of the Department of Orthopedics.

Precision surgery reduces pain

Considering the patient’s advanced age and underlying diseases, if the surgical reduction is not performed in time, the elderly will face long-term bedridden, extremely It is easy to cause complications such as lung infection and pressure ulcers, and it can even endanger life in serious cases. Director Xie Sixin finally decided to implement “closed reduction and proximal intramedullary nailing”. Compared with traditional surgery, this surgery is a precise minimally invasive surgery under C-arm fluoroscopic intervention. The surgical incision is only 5cm. The surgery has the advantages of less trauma, less blood loss, shorter operation time, fewer complications, and faster postoperative recovery. It is especially suitable for elderly osteoporosis patients with serious cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases, diabetes and other basic diseases.

After fully communicating with patients and their families, Director Xie Sixin invited experts from cardiology, respiratory medicine and other departments to conduct in-hospital consultations in order to ensure the safety of the operation, and organized case discussions and preoperative discussions in the departments for many times. Surgical risks and possible problems.

A few days ago, Director Xie Sixin led the team with the full cooperation of the anesthesiology department and the operating room, and successfully performed the operation on the old man. The C-arm underwent anterior and lateral fluoroscopy to see that the fracture alignment was good. The old man is recovering well after the operation. He can go to the ground with the help of his wife and will be discharged from the hospital in the near future.

What is osteoporosis

osteoporosis Osteoporosis is a systemic bone disease characterized by decreased bone mass, increased bone fragility and increased fracture risk due to the destruction of bone microstructure. At the same time, osteoporosis is also a degenerative and senile disease. , an increased risk of disease. According to expert estimates, the prevalence of osteoporosis in the population over 60 years old in my country is about 50% for women and 20% for men. Osteoporosis causes the elderly to become shorter and even stooped, and some elderly people often feel systemic pain.

High-risk groups of osteoporosis

The following high-risk groups need to be paid attention to: old age; smoking; female menopause; maternal family history; low body weight; Low sex hormones; low physical activity; excessive alcohol or coffee; calcium or vitamin D deficiency in the diet; diseases that affect bone metabolism; use of drugs that affect bone metabolism.

Prevention of Osteoporosis

1. A reasonable diet and healthy lifestyle can effectively prevent the occurrence of osteoporosis.

2. Sunbathing is the easiest and cheapest way. Generally speaking, young people can get enough vitamin D by sun exposure for 40 minutes a day and old people sun exposure for 60 minutes a day. It should be noted that 15% of the skin on the body should be exposed to the sun when sunbathing. Vitamin D can increase the absorption of calcium in the small intestine, which is conducive to the deposition of calcium in the bones, and is an essential substance for bone growth and development.

3. Moderate exercise can prevent bone loss. Appropriate aerobic exercise such as running and rope skipping can stimulate the bones through muscle relaxation and contraction to enhance the quality and density of the bones. It should be noted that exercise has to be persistent in order to be effective.

4. A healthy lifestyle can prevent osteoporosis. Smoking, heavy drinking, high-salt diet, drinking a lot of coffee, too little or too much exercise are all risk factors for osteoporosis and should be avoided as much as possible.

5. Treatment of underlying diseases that lead to osteoporosis. Such as rheumatoid arthritis, ankylosing spondylitis, kidney disease, diabetes, hormone-dependent diseases, etc.

A warm reminder from Director Xie Sixin: In daily life, the elderly should try to avoid walking through steep stairs or steps, and use handrails as much as possible when going up and down the stairs and when going to the toilet; they must move slowly when turning around and turning their heads; Walk with a steady gait, walk as slowly as possible, and avoid carrying heavy objects.

If the elderly suffer from hip pain after a fall, and their standing and walking are affected, they should go to the hospital as soon as possible and receive treatment from a specialist to avoid wrong moving or forced weight-bearing walking to aggravate the fracture. position, or various complications occur after prolonged bed rest and miss the best time for treatment.