Chronic Musculoskeletal Pain Contributes to Risk for Falls

Whether chronic musculoskeletal pain leads to elevated risk for falls among older adults has been assessed in a population-based longitudinal cohort study in Boston.

During the 18 months after comprehensive baseline home and clinic assessments, 749 participants (age, ≥70) reported a total of 1029 falls; 405 participants fell at least once. Three measures of pain — number of sites, severity, and functional impairment — were correlated with risk for falls. After adjustments for 18 demographic and clinical factors associated with falls (e.g., age, Parkinson disease, vision, gait speed, use of psychotherapeutic medications), the rate of falls was roughly 50% higher for patients with multiple sites of pain than for those with no pain; 50% higher …