“There is a need once again for a multifactorial assessment and intervention for fall prevention among the elderly” by Caronni and Sciumè
We thank Caronni and Sciumè1 for their interest in our work2 and positive comments. There is growing evidence lately that shows not only an increasing age at the time of spinal cord injury (SCI), but also a trend toward increasing risk of SCI among the elderly.3–5 With falls the leading cause of SCI among people aged 45 years and older,6 fall prevention programs targeting older adults should underscore SCI as one of the serious consequences associated with falls. In addition to a compendium of evidence-based fall prevention programs7 mentioned in our article, the Stopping Elderly Accidents, Deaths and Injuries (STEADI)—Older Adult Fall Prevention is a tool kit created by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) for health care providers to use in assessing and addressing fall risk with their older patients.8 In summary, we agree with our colleagues and strongly support a multi-dimensional risk assessment and multifactorial intervention to reduce falls and associated SCI in the aging population.
References
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