-Dr. Kathy Johnson, PhD, CMC
Senior citizens who reported chronic musculoskeletal pain in two or more locations, high levels of severe pain, or pain that interfered with their daily activities were more likely to experience a fall than older adults who didn’t report these types of pain.”Falls are amongst the 10 leading causes of death amongst elders in the U.S., causing more than $ 19 billion in health care costs annually. Despite growing scientific evidence supporting association between risk factors and falls, efforts to translate findings into effective fall prevention strategies were limited,” the study says.
749 adults, aged 70 years and older were studied from September 2005 to January 2008. Pain was assessed via questionnaires. Participants recorded falls and mailed them to study centers during the 18-month period. When the study began, 40 percent participants reported chronic pain in more than one joint, while 24 percent reported chronic pain in a single joint. In all, 1,029 falls were reported by the 749 participants. Also, during the follow-up, four hundred and five participants (55 percent) fell at least once.
According to analysis, compared to participants who reported no pain or those in the lowest groups of pain scores, participants who reported two or more incidences of pain experienced an increased risk for falls. Those who reported highest levels of pain severity also had an increased rate of falls. Pain interference with activities was also associated with a greater occurrence of falls.
The authors suggest there may be several possible mechanisms for the pain-falls relationship, including neuromuscular effects of pain, which could lead to leg muscle weakness or slowed neuromuscular responses to an impending fall.
The study was published in the November 25 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA).
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