A geriatric trauma is a traumatic injury sustained by an elderly person. With the general population living longer every year, geriatric traumas also tend to increase.

A typical geriatric injury isn’t different from a regular injury or one sustained during sports. The only difference is the affected person, and the root cause of the injury.

Typical geriatric traumas include:

Various reasons explain why elders are more affected by injuries than the rest of the population.

With age, the central nervous system tends to be less performant. Elders experience a loss of proprioception, issues in their coordination and sometimes a lack of balance. These issues make them a lot more vulnerable to falls, domestic accidents, motor vehicle crashes and sport injuries for the most active.

Degenerative diseases, such as osteoarthritis, medication or the overall loss of muscle mass are also contributing factors that can explain several injuries observed in the elders.

Physiotherapy can both improve current symptoms due to geriatric traumas and prevent the future ones from happening.

Treatments such as TENS, ultrasound, massages or infrared are ideal to ease a sore muscle, recover from a fall or bring back the blood flow after an injury.

Functional movement treatments are great to prevent geriatric injuries altogether. By reinforcing weak muscles, improving posture, motor coordination and proprioception, you can significantly reduce the risks of falls and common accidents that are due to a general lack of balance and strength.
Physiotherapy won’t make you younger overnight, but it surely can slow down the effects of time and make you feel good and safe in your body for as long as possible.