Fear of falling

Abstract

Objective: The purpose of the paper is to describe the ‘fear of falling’ phenomenon; to raise clinicians awareness; to consider the associated risk factors. Setting: Fear of falling can be experienced in any clinical setting or within people own homes. Primary argument Individual clinicians and the treatment and care teams should consider fear of falling in people with a disordered gait or balance, or in the months following a fall, particularly where there is a recognised decline in ‘recent’ activity or obvious activity avoidance and changes in patterns of activity. Conclusions: Fear of falling is an under recognised phenomenon. This paper suggests a range of assessment tools; and outlines some management options that are available to clinicians in order to address the problem of fear of falling.