CAN BACK PAIN CAUSE FALLS?

If you’re an older adult who has back pain, does that put you at greater risk of falling? That was the question addressed in a study undertaken by Oregon Health and Science University in Portland, Oregon, and it found a surprising answer. The study followed 6,000 older men who had varying degrees of back pain during a two year period, and when the results were in it turned out that 25 percent of the men had fallen at least once in the first year, and about ten percent had fallen multiple times. Men with more severe or frequent back pain were at greatest risk for falls, the study found. Also, having any back pain at all was a risk factor for multiple falls — men with back pain had a 30 percent great risk for falling multiple times.

The researchers did not speculate why back pain increases the risk of falling in older adults, but there could be several reasons. Any type of back pain can make people less sure of themselves as they move around, and this tentativeness could make them more prone to falls. In addition, back pain can discourage older people from getting regular exercise, which means their coordination and muscle tone can suffer, which leads to more falls.

Falls can cause serious injuries in older adults, so it’s important to reduce risk factors for them. Back pain should be addressed right away, through a chiropractor near me or other treatments, so that it doesn’t become a chronic issue that will increase the chance of a fall.