What Are the Risk Factors for Frequent Falls in Patients with Parkinson’s?

[Forum Moderator]

According to researchers, identifying predictors that put patients with Parkinson’s disease at the greatest risk for falls can aid in early intervention to prevent these occurrences. These risk factors include motor fluctuations, antidepressant treatment, disease severity, and deep brain stimulation, a large-scale study reports. Click here to learn more.

Do any of these risk factors apply to you? Have you taken any preventative steps to reduce your risk of falling?

[Anonymous]

I fell once last year in the middle of the night as I went to use the bathroom.  Although my head was bleeding, I suffered no concussion.  So theis would not happen again, here is what I have changed:

1.  Since there was a large space between the toilet bowl and the wall, I put a small stool in that space and covered it with towels so I have something to reach for if I lose my balance.

2.   I roll up a towel and place it on the rim of the shower stall.  My shoulder hit this rim when I went down, so now, if I fall in that direction again (my left side since that is weaker), it will cushion the fall.

3.  Before I get out of bed, now I sit on the edge and gather my bearings instead of jumping out of the bed quickly which can cause me to get dizzy because of low blood pressure.

4.  I actually open my eyes fully so I can see where I am going.  Previously, when I got up in the middle of the night, I would keep my eyes half shut, thinking I would fall asleep again more quickly when I climbed back into bed..

[Michael Morale]

The link that you gave in your original post is another great example of something that we can promote on this forum. I’ll speak with Marta later today and see if these have been promoted. If not, I will have her do this. Great job Jean.

[Author]

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