FALL SAFETY WATCH
Know What to Look For Before You Buy a Grab Bar
Most falls at home happen at the moment of standing up, with nothing solid to hold. Here is where they happen, which handholds fail, and the five things to check before you buy a floor-to-ceiling pole.
Recognize the handholds that give way before one ends up in your home.
GET THE FREE GUIDEFALL SAFETY BY THE NUMBERS
Sources: CDC Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report; CDC Older Adult Falls data; CDC NEISS-AIP.
234,000+
Yearly bathroom injuries treated in ERs
81% are falls
1 in 4
Adults 65 and older fall each year
3 million treated in EDs
Top 3
Bedroom, bathroom, stairs
places where falls occur
DOES YOUR HANDHOLD LOOK LIKE THIS?
Four Handholds That Give Way
When standing gets hard, people grab whatever is there. These are the handholds that fail, and why.
SUCTION-CUP GRAB BAR
The grab-and-fall bar
Holds on glass and smooth tile until it doesn't, usually without warning. Not rated for a person's weight.
TOWEL BAR
Screwed into drywall
Anchored for the weight of a towel. It gets grabbed because it is where the hand lands.
WALL BAR OUT OF REACH
Where the stud was
A wall bar only helps if the wall is next to you. The toilet and the bed usually aren't.
LOOSE RUG OR WRONG CEILING
A pole set up wrong
A tension pole on a loose rug, a vaulted ceiling, or inside the tub is a pole that can move.
A safe handhold is rated for a person's weight and placed where the hand actually reaches.
UNDERSTANDING THE STAND-UP
See How the Stand-Up Fails, and How a Pole Fixes It
A handhold looks helpful until it has to carry a person. In thirty seconds: where the pole goes, how it installs without drilling, and the rotating grab bar that covers the tub and the toilet.
WATCH VIDEOA fall happens in a second. The handhold has to already be there, rated for the weight, and within reach of the seat.
A FALL LOOKS LIKE THIS
Three Transfers Cause Most Falls at Home
Each one is a stand-up or a step-over with nothing solid to hold. Each one needs a handhold where the hand actually reaches.
Standing from the toilet
The push-up with nothing to push on. One in seven bathroom injuries happens here.
Stepping over the tub edge
One leg up, balance on the other, a wet floor. More than a third of bathroom injuries happen while bathing.
The 2 a.m. stand-up
Balance is worst at night. The edge of the bed is where night-time falls begin.
WHAT TO LOOK FOR
When Choosing a Transfer Pole
Before buying a floor-to-ceiling pole online, check the listing for these five things. If it can't answer all five, keep looking.
Tension Mounted, No Drilling
The load goes into the floor and the ceiling joists, not the wall. Nothing to patch, and it moves to the next room.
Fits Your Ceiling
Look for a stated range, usually 7 to 10 feet on a flat, solid ceiling. Vaulted or angled ceilings need a model that hard-mounts.
Rated to 300 Pounds
Steel, with a stated weight capacity on the listing. No number, no pole.
A Rotating Grab Bar
One pole becomes a tub grab bar on one side and a toilet grab bar on the other, with the handle where the hand reaches.
Placed Where the First Step Happens
Just outside the tub, in front of the toilet, beside the bed on the side they get up from. Never inside the tub, never on a loose rug.
FREE GUIDE
Get the Aging at Home Guide
Eight pages: the signs your loved one needs a handhold, what to check before buying a pole or a bed rail, a room-by-room checklist, and how HSA, FSA, and Medicare Advantage can pay.
LEARN MORE
The sources behind the numbers on this page, and where to read more about preventing falls at home.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Older adult falls: facts, data, and the STEADI program
View CDC fall resourcesConsumer Product Safety Commission
Adult bed rail safety and the mandatory standard
View CPSC bed rail resourcesThis information is for educational purposes only and is not intended as medical advice. Consult a qualified healthcare professional regarding individual safety needs.
The Wonder Pole: Tension Mounted, Rated to 300 Pounds
Installs by hand in minutes between floor and ceiling. A rotating grab bar that covers the tub and the toilet from one pole. Lifetime frame guarantee, designed in Logan, Utah since 1998.
HSA and FSA eligible. Questions? Call 800-506-9901, Monday to Friday.