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Falls Researcher Breaks Ankle

Helen Lach, Ph.D., professor of nursing at Saint Louis University, has spent a quarter of a century studying the debilitating impact taking a tumble can have on the lives of senior adults.

The 61-year-old nurse who specializes in geriatrics became a victim of her own scholarship when she slipped on a wet hill in August and broke her ankle. In an instant, her life changed.

Helen Lach, Ph.D.

Helen Lach, Ph.D., knows from her research that breaking a bone can have a debilitating impact on health, which is one reason she's working hard to rehab her broken ankle. Photo by Ellen Hutti

“Most older people fear breaking a hip, an injury so serious that only a third of those older than 65 fully recover,” Lach said.

“However, you don’t hear as much about other injuries For instance a broken ankle keeps you off your feet longer than a hip. It’s something I’ll be exploring in the future.”

The better shape you’re in going into an injury, the easier it is to manage and recover. Muscle strength and exercise really are the magic bullets for life.”

Helen Lach, Ph.D., professor of nursing

Breaking her ankle reinforced the importance of exercise for Lach, who always has been fairly fit. She’s back to walking on a treadmill, stretching and doing strengthening exercises, thanks to help from her physical therapist.

“The better shape you’re in going into an injury, the easier it is to manage and recover. Muscle strength and exercise really are the magic bullets for life.”

Breaking her ankle has taught Lach other lessons:

Lach studies how fear of falling can perpetuate a cycle that causes poor health. A person breaks a bone and becomes afraid it could happen again, doesn’t move around, then becomes frail and more likely to fall.

That isn’t going to happen to Lach.

“I’m more aware of falling,” she said. “But I want to get back to my normal life. There are things I wouldn’t do right now, but I should be able to do them by summer because I’ll be stronger and better. It takes time.”