Falling for no apparent reason: Any ideas?

I wish I knew a little bit more about when/how you are falling, but I JUST figured out why I have taken so many tumbles over the course of my life. At almost 67 yo, after finally snapping my pereoneal longus tendon, my wonderful foot and ankle specialist, within :30 identified a congenital defect in my ankles. It’s called “cavus deformity.”

I could go on about it but the bottom line is, have your feet/gate/walk evaluated by an orthopedic specialist. Simple inserts can make a difference even if your problem is not extreme.

Hi. I just read your full post. Most definitely ear/hearing affects balance.

PT can be beneficial but finding the root cause will be the most helpful.

It hurts when we fall!!!! I don’t miss it AT ALL. An over the counter insert called: ARCH RIVAL helped me a lot because the cavus deformity caused me to roll off of my feet! Do you have high arches?

Hello @helphelps and welcome to Mayo Connect.

I see that you now have an answer for your tendency to fall. It is great that inserts can make such a difference.

As I'm not familiar with cavus deformity and I would be interested in learning how your foot/ankle specialist diagnosed this. Was it through an x-ray or just observation?

It’s a bowing of the heel bones, resulting in high arches and heels that never hit the ground making an unstable foundation!

He took one look with bare eye and then took an xray.

Wow, too much Vitamin D? My doctor told me mine was extremely high and to stop it for a month. I had no idea it could make me unstable on my feet, but it certainly makes sense. My doctor was always saying my level was too low. He said I should try a bit more. I didn’t think I overdid it but I have SLE, and things can change very quickly.

I started falling, though, before the vitamin D. I have not told my doctor about all my falls. I’ve had bad falls, hit my head a few times (once on the tile floor). The last fall I think I almost fractured my skull as I had a faint taste and smell of blood. My head where I hit got so big I couldn’t fit my hand around it. Instantly I put ice on it. I don’t believe I lost consciousness. BUT, I will tell yo that those new kitchen mats that are about 1” higher than the floor are KILLERS in my opinion. I got rid of mine. I need rugs but ones that are flat to the ground.

Seriously, I almost had other falls from those mats. If my foot gets half on, half off the mat then I lose balance. So, this has helped.

I’ve no idea why but it seems like it began happening frequently all at once. One day I was sure footed and suddenly, around age 75 (77 now) this started. I DO know that as I’ve aged I began walking rather stooped or looking down. I believe I fall because I have to be aware of this new development. Most things I do are in front of me, so we begin to slowly stoop.

I still get off balance and fall, resulting in horrible skin tears. I notice if I do not pay close attention to my surroundings that I will lose my balance. Mostly, I step back and into something or turn around and realize I’m too close to something. So far, I’ve not told my doctor except when I have a skin tear, not about falling.

Also I have non essential tremors in both hands, my left the worse. It is when I try putting my key in a lock, etc., I keep missing. I find the harder I try the worse it gets. And if anyone is around I get exceptionally shaky. I told my doctor about it but he just asked when did THIS start? But then he went on to another subject. So I don’t think the tremors are indicative of anything as I’ve had one in my right hand for 30+ years.

Getting older is challenging. I’d rather NOT tell my doctor EVERYTHING. I do tell him almost everything but am uneasy about revealing anything more. I apologize, but I do NOT want to go from doctor to doctor to figure this out because I am, frankly, tired of doctors.

Am I nuts or what?

Hi, @sharing. I recognize virtually all of your symptoms and injuries as described, but primarily because my wife has similar symptoms and has experienced four falls over the past three years. At age 89, I have had some such symptoms, but without the falls. With that experience, I have the following suggestions: Your overall situation cries out for a specialist in neurology to give you a comprehensive examination and diagnosis. The neurologist will look into lots of possibilities, including these that I know of from our experience: Dizziness and imbalance attributable to your nervous system, lack of oxygen from lung or heart deficiencies, blood pressure that is too high or too low, visual defects that keep you from realizing your position among stairs and furniture at home, glucose intolerance from diabetic tendencies, and digestive system problems affecting multiple organs and functions. As I wrote that broad and extended list, it seems important to also suggest a comprehensive examination by the Mayo Clinic itself or the best clinic operated by your state's university medical services. Martin

If you fall and hit your head like that in the future I would encourage you to go to ER for a CT scan to check for a brain bleed.

I had this for years. I went to multiple doctors, including 4 neurologists who didn’t have a clue. After much research, I discovered that I was short of glutathione due to liver issues. I took glutathione in various forms, then I researched how to kick start my liver. What worked on me was taking milk thistle capsules and eating more veggies, especially broccoli, cabbage, and related veggies. I found this hard to keep up on, so I started buying veggie powders, which I mixed with V8 (about 1 teasp. powder/day) and drank every morning. Eventually I stopped falling, although if get too little milk thistle and veggies, I get less stable on my feet. These remedies are healthy anyway, so you might as well try them. Good luck!

Falling for no reason can be a shortage of Glutathione (made by the liver). Liver can be enhanced by taking Milk Thistle capsules or other supplements and eating more cruciferous veggies. I take powdered veggies mixed with V8 every day.

Absolutely! A fall with head injury is an automatic ER visit for CT scan. Hate to mention this but if Richard Simmons had done that, he may still be with us!