Important: This page is general information, not medical advice. It does not recommend or prescribe any treatment. Always consult your doctor or pharmacist before starting, stopping or changing any medicine.
About Falls
Falls can be dangerous at any age. Babies and young children can get hurt falling off furniture or down the stairs. Older children may fall off playground equipment. For older adults, falls can be especially serious. They are at higher risk of falling. They are also more likely to fracture (break) a bone when they fall, especially if they have osteoporosis. A broken bone, especially when it is in a hip, may even lead to disability and a loss of independence for older adults.
Some common causes of falls include:
- Balance problems
- Some medicines, which can make you feel dizzy, confused, or slow
- Vision problems
- Alcohol, which can affect your balance and reflexes
- Muscle weakness, especially in your legs, which can make it harder for you to get up from a chair or keep your balance when walking on an uneven surface.
- Certain illnesses, such as low blood pressure, diabetes, and neuropathy
- Slow reflexes, which make it hard to keep your balance or move out of the way of a hazard
- Tripping or slipping due to loss of footing or traction
At any age, people can make changes to lower their risk of falling. It important to take care of your health, including getting regular eye exams. Regular exercise may lower your risk of falls by strengthening your muscles, improving your balance, and keeping your bones strong. And you can look for ways to make your house safer. For example, you can get rid of tripping hazards and make sure that you have rails on the stairs and in the bath. To reduce the chances of breaking a bone if you do fall, make sure that you get enough calcium and vitamin D.
It sits within Older Adults and Safety Issues.
The lead U.S. institute for this subject is the National Institute on Aging.
When to speak to someone. Reading about a topic cannot tell you whether it applies to you. Speak to a doctor or pharmacist if symptoms are severe, sudden, getting worse, or simply not going away — and seek emergency care immediately for chest pain, breathing difficulty, sudden weakness or confusion, or a serious allergic reaction.
Research on Falls
1,591 studies areregistered for this condition on ClinicalTrials.gov, the U.S. National Library of Medicine's public registry. A selection is below — the links go straight to the registry entry, not to a summary of ours.
What a registered study does and does not mean. Registration means a study exists and has been declared publicly. It says nothing about whether the treatment being tested works, is safe, or is available to you. Many studies find no benefit — that is what research is for. Never seek out an experimental treatment on the strength of a registry entry alone.
Research currently under way
- Influence Of A Slope Adaptive Foot On Participation Of Veterans With Lower-Limb AmputationsVA Office of Research and Development
- Effects of a Community-based Multicomponent Physical Exercise Program on Physical Function, Frailty, and Sarcopenia in Older Adults From the Municipality of Santoña: a Quasi-experimental Study.Universidad de Granada
- Vestibular Balance-Cognition Dual-Task Digital System: Development of a Smart Rehabilitation Platform for the Elderly and Prediction of Balance Function RisksNational Yang Ming Chiao Tung University
- Effect of Dual-Task Training on Balance and Fall Risk in Lower Limb Amputees Using ProsthesisKafrelsheikh University
- Keep Exercising & Stay Steady: Development and Feasibility of a Health Intervention to Encourage Exercise Maintenance After Fall Prevention Exercise Programmes End.Northumbria University
- Self-initiated Perturbation-based Training in Older AdultsThe Hong Kong Polytechnic University
Research already completed
- Balance After Traumatic Brain InjuryVA Office of Research and Development
- tDCS in Elderly Fallers StudyHebrew SeniorLife
- Post-stroke Perturbation TrainingMedical University of South Carolina
- Effects of Kinect-Based Exergaming Versus Wii Fit Training on Balance and Fall Risk Among Healthy Older AdultsFoundation University Islamabad
- Falls: A Marker of Preclinical ADWashington University School of Medicine
- Training Improves Balance ControlBoston University Charles River Campus
Study data from ClinicalTrials.gov, a service of the U.S. National Library of Medicine. Retrieved 2026-07-30. Registry entries are supplied by study sponsors and investigators; ClinicalTrials.gov does not verify their scientific validity. PocketsInfo is not affiliated with, and not endorsed by, the NLM or the NIH.
Where to read more
Rather than paraphrase, we point you to the primary sources. Every link below is to a government health agency, a national institute or a recognised medical body — grouped by what you are trying to find out.
Start Here
- Falls and Fractures in Older Adults: Causes and PreventionNational Institute on Aging
Diagnosis and Tests
- Balance TestsNational Library of Medicine
- Fall Risk AssessmentNational Library of Medicine
Prevention and Risk Factors
- Fall Prevention: Simple Tips to Prevent FallsMayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research
- Preventing Falls and Hip FracturesCenters for Disease Control and Prevention
- Preventing Falls: Tips to Keep You on Your FeetNational Institutes of Health
Related Issues
- Keeping Your BalanceBone Health and Osteoporosis Foundation
Statistics and Research
- Facts about FallsCenters for Disease Control and Prevention
- FastStats: Accidents or Unintentional InjuriesNational Center for Health Statistics
Clinical Trials
- ClinicalTrials.gov: Accidental FallsNational Institutes of Health
Medical subject headings
Clinicians and researchers index this subject under Accidental Falls. These are the terms to use when searching medical literature.
This page is built from the MedlinePlus health topic record for Falls, a service of the U.S. National Library of Medicine (NLM), National Institutes of Health. Information is from MedlinePlus.gov. PocketsInfo is not affiliated with, and is not endorsed by, the NLM or the NIH. Retrieved 30 July 2026.