@mickeymoose How recent have you kept a log of blood pressure.. when you went to the Doctor for the broken ribs, they are certainly painful... did they take your blood pressure? Fainting particularly as you move from a kneeling position to standing up rapidly... can cause fainting spells...

@mickeymoose I can relay some information that you might want to consider. I had a spine injury caused by a whiplash years ago, but then the damaged disc degenerated and I needed spine surgery which I had 4 years ago. I also have thoracic outlet syndrome which is tightness and nerve impingement between the collar bone and rib cage and it along with the spine injury was causing muscle spasms in my neck that were twisting or tilting my neck vertebrae just a little bit. I developed vertigo and the episodes happened if I looked up, and I fell over backward. I didn't know at the time it was because my neck vertebrae were out of alignment, and it happens with C1 & C2 and the way he skull sits on top. If you were looking upward at the grocery store when you fell, you could have something like this. With the injury you just had falling down the stairs, there could be a problem or muscle spasms in your neck moving vertebrae around. Did you have any spine imaging and did anyone look at the discs and alignment? My physical therapist was able to resolve this, and since I had corrective spine surgery for a collapsed disc, it doesn't happen anymore. There are a lot of muscle connections between the shoulder blade and the spine, and you are probably guarding the injury which just adds to the tension. The vertebral artery passes through the sides of the upper cervical vertebrae, and if those vertebrae are twisted, the artery is stretched, then if you look up, it gets compressed and causes vertigo. You might need so time off work to heal from your injuries. Thoracic outlet syndrome or TOS can also result from a shoulder injury and can cause reduced blood flow to the brain. One of the tests for it is to listen to the pulse in the neck, and have the patient turn their head, and the pulse stops. I certainly would consult a doctor about the balance problems and ask for a spine consult at facility that also treats patients for TOS. TOS is often misunderstood and since your issues can be a combination of these things, it is best to consult at a place where they have specialists for all of it. That is what brought me to Mayo as a patient. There are a lot of physical components to balance with the neck, inner ear and vision, and physical therapy may be able to correct that now. Balance does become a problem for a lot of people as they age, so what you do now will affect your future. Get well soon and advocate for yourself until you get some answers and are on a path to recovery.