ANALYSIS OF POST-FALL COMPLICATIONS IN THE ELDERLY: A NARRATIVE REVIEW

Abstract

The Brazilian population is aging at an increasingly rapid rate, and the occurrence of comorbidities is also becoming a recurring problem, especially regarding falls. In this sense, visualizing the profile of complications from these events is revealed as an essential tool in medical care, which is the objective of this study. For the methodology, a narrative review was selected from the Virtual Health Library (BVS), Scientific Electronic Library Online (SciELO) and Latin American and Caribbean Health Sciences Literature (LILACS) databases, selecting articles from 2021 to June 2026. The results showed that although complications from falls are not very frequent, when they do occur, they are mostly limited to fractures. However, other more severe comorbidities such as cerebral hemorrhages and open wounds have a real chance of occurring. Therefore, the literature reveals that such occurrences should be prevented through physical exercise and preventive medical care to minimize the chance of falls in the elderly. Therefore, the article concludes that literature reinforces the need to prevent sedentary lifestyles in older adults to minimize the likelihood of falls and demonstrates the need for more studies on this topic.