Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU) has launched a programme to reduce the risk of falls and related injuries among the elderly, and to improve their quality of life.

About 17,000 people aged 60 or above will be recruited over the next 45 months to take part in the Jockey Club SafeMove fall management programme.

Speaking at the programme’s launch on Monday, Marco Pang, Chair Professor of Neurorehabilitation and Head of the Department of Rehabilitation Sciences at PolyU said participants will receive training to learn self protection and safe landing techniques to reduce the risk and severity of fall‑related injuries.

"It’s not just about preventing falls, it is also about how to protect yourself when you fall, how to change the landing direction so the impact can be dispersed better, and how to develop protective reflexes in older people – all of these are very important,” he said.

Pang noted that official data showed that about 16 percent of older people in the SAR fall at least once a year, with roughly one of those falls leading to a bone fracture.

The most common injury is a hip fracture, he added.

Amy Fu, Associate Head and Professor of the Department of Rehabilitation Sciences at PolyU, said it is crucial to educate seniors on how to fall properly and react quickly, as it could reduce their chances of suffering a fracture by 72 percent.

"When [falling] to the ground, they should turn their bodies so a larger area makes contact with the ground – not just land on the hip," she said.

She noted that this requires good body‑turning abilities and strength in different muscle groups and the upper limbs.

"But no matter how strong you are, if that coordination isn't smooth or fast, it won't work," she said.

Fu said the programme will also integrate some judo techniques so participants can respond immediately if and when they fall.


Edited by Aaron Tam