Latest Falling Stories

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says more than 86,000 people are injured each year in falls caused by their cats and dogs. That's an average annual injury rate of 29.7 per 100,000 people, the agency said in a release. Nearly 88 percent of the injuries were associated with dogs and women were twice as likely to be injured than men. The findings are based on data from hospital emergency departments. Nearly 62 percent of dog-related injuries occurred inside or immediately...

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) released a report showing the number of U.S. teenage girls who are having babies continues to increase, Reuters reported.The report said that while the U.S. population is more than replacing itself, the teen birth rate was up for the second year in a row.Federal health officials are concerned over teen births increasing, as they rose 3 percent in 2006 after a 14-year decline.Hispanic teens were the only group that showed a decline in the...

Training people to avoid falls by repeatedly exposing them to unstable situations in the laboratory helped them to later maintain their balance on a slippery floor, according to new research from the Journal of Neurophysiology.The study furthered the understanding of how the brain develops fall prevention strategies that can be generalized to a variety of conditions. The research could eventually help people, including the elderly, for whom falling is an important health issue.The study,...

To: NATIONAL EDITORS Contact: CDC Injury Center Media Relations, +1-770-488-4902 ATLANTA, Aug. 25 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The following advisory is being issued by Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: WHAT: Technology is useful for developing social and communication skills, but can pose risks to adolescent health and safety. To help parents and educators better understand and address "electronic aggression," (any kind of aggression perpetrated through technology which also...

More than 200 health professionals attended a 'fall awareness' event in Stoke-on-Trent. They were at Cobridge Community Centre, in Bursley Road, Cobridge, last month to discuss how to prevent older people falling. Statistics show falls are a major cause of disability and the main cause of death in people aged over 75 in the UK. Councillor Jean Bowers, Stoke-on-Trent City Council's portfolio holder for adults and health, said: "The event was an opportunity for health and social care...

Traumatic brain injuries due to falls caused nearly 8,000 U.S. deaths and 56,000 hospitalizations in 2005 among people 65 and older, officials said. A Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report, published in the June issue of the Journal of Safety Research, said traumatic brain injuries are caused by a bump or blow to the head. However, they may be missed or misdiagnosed among older adults. Traumatic brain injury often results in long-term cognitive, emotional, and/or functional...

Elderly falls can cause fatal brain damage, according to a study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.Published in the June issue of the Journal of Safety Research, the report found that brain injuries incurred during falls accounted for almost 8,000 deaths and 56,000 hospitalizations in 2005 among elderly Americans. The other deaths were linked to a variety of causes including heart failure, strokes, infections and existing chronic conditions which were worsened by injuries...

In the first large scale national study of escalator-related injuries to older adults, researchers led by Joseph O'Neil, M.D., MPH, and Greg Steele, Dr.PH., MPH, of the Indiana University School of Medicine, report that the rate of these injuries has doubled from 1991 to 2005. The results of the study are published in the March 2008 issue of the journal Accident Analysis and Prevention.Using U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission data, the researchers found nearly 40,000 older adults were...

New guidelines developed by the American Academy of Neurology find certain neurology patients are at a high risk of accidental falls, and should be regularly screened to help prevent the high number of fall-related injuries and deaths in the United States each year. The guidelines further suggest that a person's first fall is a good predictor of those at risk for another, more serious fall. With deaths and injuries from falls increasing, the guidelines urge doctors to ask patients, who often...

PITTSBURGH -- Richard Grove, 73 years old and a robust 6 feet tall, set out with confident strides across a laboratory floor the other day. His first five steps went great.Then his left foot hit a slippery patch and skidded. His arms windmilled over his head as if he were throwing a baseball with each hand. His right foot shot forward to come even with his left. But he quickly regained his balance and kept on walking.This was no accident. Grove had just slipped for science.Millions of years...