Review your Medications with your Medical Provider for Possible Impact on Mobility and Balance

December 2024 – Falls are a significant issue for older adults and medications are known contributors. Errors in medication lists are common, especially after discharge from the hospital.

A tip is to keep an accurate list of medications grouped by disease categories and include instructions if you miss a dose (happens frequently). Keep a list of any medications discontinued and the reason why. If you have new balance or mobility issues (unsteadiness), review any newly prescribed medications with your medical provider.

Also, there are medications that have a higher side effect risk that are NOT recommended for older adults (called the Beer’s Criteria – click here for more information) that you should review with your provider.

Categories of possible risky medications that can impact mobility/balance control:

1. Sleep aids and mood or anxiety medications: these can cause dizziness, loss of balance, lightheadedness, or contribute to feeling weak or having poor awareness

2. Heart/Blood Pressure medications: can make you feel lightheaded when moving from seated to standing position or can cause you to feel weak/tired

3. Arthritis/Neuropathy pain medications: while pain control helps maintain activity, side effects need to be monitored as they can cause bad balance or contribute to poor awareness

4. Blood thinners and non-steroidal anti-inflammatory medications like Ibuprofen: while this category does not increase fall risk, it does increase your risk of injury if you do fall (acetaminophen is safe)

If you are prescribed one of these classes of medications, review your medication list with your medical provider and discuss using a non-pharmacological method to control certain diseases/symptoms when appropriate. An exhaustive list of risky medications is available on the Beer’s criteria list (see link above).