More Pain = More Falls

Seniors with chronic pain have an increased risk of falling, according to a study reported in November ’09 in the Journal of the American Medical Association.  The purpose of the study was to evaluate whether chronic pain was, in fact, a risk factor for falls.

A specific study in Boston provided the data for this analysis.  A total of 749 septuagenarians were enrolled between 2005 and 2008, and followed for 18 months.  The participants recorded any falls on calendar postcards that they mailed in, monthly.

At baseline, 42% of the subjects had pains involving two or more joints, and 24% had pain involving a single joint.  Those with two or more locations of pain, severe or very severe pain, or disabling pain at baseline had a significantly higher risk of falls.  After adjusting for age, the rates of falls per person-year were 1.18 for those with two or more pain sites, 0.90 for those with single-site pain, and 0.78 for those without joint-related pain.  Remarkably, back pain was not associated with an increased risk of falls.

It’s possible that analgesics could reduce joint-related pains to the extent that the risk of falls is no higher than in those without pain; but, analgesics can cause dizziness, which itself may precipitate a fall . . .