A fall is rarely just bad luck, and the loss of confidence that follows one often does more damage to somebody's life than the fall itself. People stop going out, stop seeing friends, and get weaker, which makes the next fall more likely.
That cycle is one of the more reversible things in physiotherapy. NICE recommends strength and balance training for older people at risk of falling, and it works, provided the programme is hard enough to be a challenge and continues long enough to matter.
More information
What an assessment covers
Why you are unsteady, which is usually more than one thing at once. Leg strength, balance reactions, how you walk, your vision, whether dizziness is involved, and your medication, since several common drugs contribute to unsteadiness and it is worth knowing if yours do. We also look at the practical hazards where you actually live, which is one reason a home visit is often the better appointment.
After a brain injury
Anneke Webb led physiotherapy at a brain injury rehabilitation centre in London for seven years. Rehabilitation after an acquired brain injury covers balance and walking, coordination, strength, and the fatigue that follows brain injury and is routinely underestimated by everybody except the person experiencing it. Progress is often slower and less linear than after other injuries, and being told that honestly at the start helps.
If you have had a fall
Do not wait for the second one. Getting assessed after a first fall, or after a near miss that frightened you, is considerably more effective than rebuilding after a fracture. And if you have fallen and hit your head, or fallen and cannot weight bear, that needs medical attention before it needs physiotherapy.
