Falls are the leading cause of injury-related hospitalisation in persons aged 65 years and over and can result in hospitalisation. Between 22 to 60 percent of older people suffer injuries from falls, 2 to 6 percent suffer fractures and a smaller percentage suffer hip fractures. The most commonly reported injuries include superficial cuts and abrasions, bruises and sprains. The most common injuries that require hospitalisation comprise hip fracture, other fracture of the leg, fracture of radius, ulna and other bones in the arm and fracture of the neck and trunk.
The most serious of these fall-related injuries is fracture of the hip. Older people recover slowly from hip fracture and are vulnerable to a number of potential post-operative complications.