Seniors living with preexisting disabilities face a substantially tougher road to recovery after falls than those without, a study from the Yale School of Medicine found. 

Most seniors without disabilities experienced a rapid or gradual recovery prior to a fall, the researchers found, but as the severity of the pre-fall disability increased, the likelihood of a recovery dropped substantially. 

 “Only about one-third of participants with moderate disability had a substantive recovery,” the researchers wrote. “Without exception, no recovery was observed among participants who had severe disability before the fall.” 

The study highlights the importance of fall prevention and injury-reduction strategies for all seniors, even those without prior disability: Across all of the seniors studied, hip fractures presented the toughest road to recovery regardless of prior disability status. 

“A serious fall injury is often a defining event in the life of an older person, demarcating two distinct epochs of function immediately before and after the injury,” the researchers noted. 

The study followed more than 750 elders living in the greater New Haven, Conn. community between 1998 and 2012.