The Science Behind Elderly Falling, Slipping

May 13, 2009 — -- For millions of older Americans a slip or fall could result in serious health complications.

"Falls are the number one contributor to deaths in older Americans due to accident," said Mark Grabiner, of the University of Illinois at Chicago.

In fact, every 18 seconds, an older adult is in the emergency room because of a fall, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

And for the last two decades Grabiner has tried to make people fall — not to hurt them — but in order to better understand how seniors fall.

He hopes his research will help devise exercise that will prevent elderly falls.

"The way they walk and the way they fall is actually a result of the changes that occur normally as we proceed in chronological age," Grabiner said.

Participants like 62-year-old Kathleen Randolph find value in the research.

"We live in the winter in Chicago, so enough said," she said.