Older people urged to move slower to avoid falls
Older people with a physical disability should take basic movements more slowly to reduce the risk of having a fall, it has been claimed.
Moving too quickly is a common cause of falls among older people in the UK, according to the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (RoSPA).
The organisation's home safety manager, Sheila Merrill, explained: "If you're getting up out of a chair or getting up out of bed, and you do have an increased risk of falling, then do it more slowly and take your time because it reduces the risk of becoming dizzy and falling.
"I wouldn't recommend that somebody suddenly starts doing strenuous activities."
Her comments follow research by the University of Aberdeen published last month, which suggested that elderly women with a common gene variant may be more prone to falls.
However, the scientists indicated that falls can be the result of a wide range of factors, including environmental conditions, noting that the gene variant alone is unlikely to be the sole cause of increased risk of falls.
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