Preventing falls when your client needs to stand The transition from sitting to standing often incurs the risk of falling for patients. Falls are the number one reason older people are taken into the emergency department at a hospital and whilst most falls don’t cause serious injury, they can leave people feeling distressed. Therefore, we must take precautions to enable an easy transfer and prevent a fall when your client needs to stand. Reducing the risk of a fall begins with analysing the capabilities of the client performing the sit-to-stand; following an initial assessment Handicare are able to provide support and equipment which will work for both the client, and the carer. Assessment consideration can include: Monitoring the range of movement that an individual has through their ankle joints – if they’re unable to lift the ball of their foot off the floor whilst their heel stays in contact with the floor, they will struggle with difficulty to stand. Consider the strength of the individual by asking them to lift their foot off the ground to check the strength of their thighs – if they cannot lift their lower leg against gravity, they may be unable to stand. Forming an analysis will encompass many other assessment considerations such as client and caregiver capabilities, the environment that the sit-to-stand will be occurring within and whether the patient is walking after achieving standing as this may change our approach. Recommendations will be formulated based on some of the following: What is the pattern of movement that the individual likes to use? How much do we want to activate the individual? What is the rehabilitation potential of the patient? How much risk are we trying to reduce? Does the individual have a natural pattern of movement, do they bend forwards more than normal or do they lean back too much? Following an initial assessment, some scenario’s identified may be: My client has a natural pattern of movement To enable someone to keep moving we can use simpler products to assist an individual to stand. Quite often we will use something that improves the reach of the caregiver – reducing their strain, providing a safer grip and creating space for the individual to move. The ReTurn7500i stimulates the user’s natural pattern of movement during a sit-to-stand transfer and is the ideal solution within this scenario. My client is bending forwards When an individual flex’s too far forwards during a sit-to-stand transfer, we must encourage them to focus on moving upwards. A bar or handle where the individual can stabilise and compensate through an upper limb is often the best solution, helping to direct the movement upwards and reduce the risk of falling. The rising ladder on the ReTurn7500i allows the client to do this whilst supporting a natural pattern of movement and closeness. My client is leaning back This movement creates a risk of falling back into the chair, placing more strain on the carer and increasing the risk of injury. A stand-aid hoist such as the MiniLift125 is often used in these situations. My client can walk, but finds it difficult to stand Quite often, there are situations where the individual cannot stand easily but once they are standing, they can walk quite well. There are also often situations we wish to reduce the strain on the carer whilst allowing the patient to walk. Quite often a product with a removable base plate is used, such as the ReTurn7500i which has the benefits of allowing the patient to compensate for their weakness in sit-to-stand, but also ensures they’re free to walk after completing their stand. My client cannot stand for long There are some patients who can perform a sit-to-stand quite well, but have a poor ability to stand for a prolonged period of time. We can apply different approaches in this type of situation such as a solution that provides support to keep the individual standing safely. This can include supportive slings for sit-to-stand hoists, or ReTurn accessories such as ReTurnBelt and HeelStrap. Another approach would be to provide a product which offers a drop down seat such as the QuickMove – the small and convenient sit-to-stand and transfer aid that safeguards and strengthens the users abilities. Nevertheless, both approaches have multiple benefits in different situations. My client is in an environment with reduced space Sometimes in environments with reduced space, we might resort to using products with a smaller footprint and a good ability to turn. With reduced space and weaker patients, we often recommend transferring to a hygiene product such as a wheeled commode. There are many different clinical situations with their own unique complexities and many possible solutions. Handicare provide solutions that reduce the complexity of such situations by promoting the best pattern of movement and reducing strain on caregivers with equipment that is most appropriate within the right environment. Every client has their own complexities. For free assessment advice and solutions including Handicare equipment please contact us to learn more. Please note, the solutions suggested above are only suggestions; the scenario and the individual clients complexity always needs to be taken into consideration.