How to prevent future risks for a woman who had an abdominal blunt injury?

Prevention of Future Injury Risk After Blunt Abdominal Trauma

For a 55-year-old woman who slipped in her garden and sustained blunt abdominal trauma but is now stable, the priority for preventing future injury is maintaining a healthy weight (Option B), as obesity significantly increases fall risk through impaired balance, reduced mobility, increased center of gravity instability, and joint stress affecting gait stability. 1

Why Weight Management is the Correct Answer

Maintaining a healthy weight is essential for preventing future falls, which is the primary mechanism of injury in this patient. 1 The evidence specifically identifies that:

• Obesity increases fall risk through multiple mechanisms: impaired balance and coordination, reduced mobility and reaction time, increased center of gravity instability, and joint stress affecting gait stability 1
• Weight management improves balance, mobility, and reduces fall risk in patients who have experienced falls 1
• Secondary prevention strategies should include weight management counseling as part of comprehensive fall prevention after blunt trauma 1

Why the Other Options Are Incorrect

Dietary Calcium (Option A)

• Calcium supplementation is relevant for osteoporosis prevention and bone health, not for preventing the traumatic mechanism (falls) that caused this patient's injury
• While calcium may reduce fracture severity if a fall occurs, it does nothing to prevent the fall itself
• The question asks about preventing future risk of injury, not managing bone density

Avoiding Contact Sports (Option C)

• This patient's injury occurred from a slip in her garden—a fall-related mechanism 1
• Contact sports are not the relevant exposure for a 55-year-old woman who fell at home
• This recommendation would be appropriate for younger patients engaged in high-impact activities, but does not address this patient's actual risk profile

Clinical Algorithm for Secondary Prevention

After confirming the patient has no occult injury requiring intervention, the focus shifts to comprehensive fall prevention: 1

1. Weight management counseling - Address obesity as a modifiable fall risk factor 1
2. Home safety assessment - Identify and mitigate environmental hazards like the garden where she slipped 1
3. Gait and balance evaluation - Assess for underlying mobility impairments 1
4. Medication review - Identify drugs that may increase fall risk 1

Common Pitfalls to Avoid

• Do not over-restrict activities in patients with no injury, as this can lead to deconditioning and paradoxically increase future fall risk 1
• Do not focus solely on the acute injury when the patient is stable—shift to comprehensive fall prevention strategies 1
• Do not assume all trauma patients need activity restriction; patients appropriately evaluated with no injury can be safely discharged with injury prevention counseling 1

Discharge Instructions

Patients with no injury after appropriate evaluation can be safely discharged with clear return precautions: 1

• Return for worsening abdominal pain 1
• Return for abdominal distension 1
• Return for fever 1
• Return for vomiting 1