Since january 1st of this year, people over 65 years old had a fall in Europe, sometimes with serious consequences.
Since january 1st of this year, people over 65 years old had a fall in Europe, sometimes with serious consequences.
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Many of our sense are useful for good balance:
- The ears, of course, and especially the internal ear which governs balance. As we get older, the cells in our ears die out. This comes with presbyacousis, i.e. lower hearing, but also a loss in vestibular sensitivity.
- Eyesight, which can provide us with reference points in space. Among seniors, there is a reduction of visual acuity and sensitivity to contrasts, a narrowing of the visual field. Higher vigilance is therefore required when moving along, especially in unfamiliar locations. Good lighting also makes it possible to counterbalance these deficiencies.
- The sense of touch, or more exactly proprioception: there are thousands of sensors in our muscles and skin giving information to our brain on the position of our body in space and indicating how it is moving. With ageing, this proprioceptive sensitivity diminishes, and as the indications received by our brain become less clear, the movements following from them are less precise.
Among seniors, information processing is performed more slowly, which force centres to overlook some of the information, notably vestibular signals, and favour visual information. This results in higher postural instability and an increase in balance impairments.
