{"id":7332,"date":"2026-09-06T23:11:46","date_gmt":"2026-09-06T23:11:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.visiting-angels.co.uk\/cheshire-east\/?p=7332"},"modified":"2026-09-07T10:08:32","modified_gmt":"2026-09-07T10:08:32","slug":"why-do-i-keep-falling-over-for-no-reason","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.visiting-angels.co.uk\/cheshire-east\/why-do-i-keep-falling-over-for-no-reason\/","title":{"rendered":"Why do I keep falling over for no reason?"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

Quick summary<\/b><\/h3>\n

Falling for no obvious reason almost always has a reason. Usually it is one of five: blood pressure dropping when you stand, a medicine or a combination of medicines, muscle weakness, eyesight, or an undiagnosed heart or neurological problem. <\/span>Four of the five are treatable.<\/b> Ask your GP for a falls assessment and a medication review.<\/span><\/p>


<\/span><\/p>\n

Is falling over just part of getting older?<\/b><\/h3>\n

No, and the official position is clear about it. Falls become more common with age, with around a third of people aged 65 and over and around half of people aged 80 and over falling at least once a year, but government guidance states plainly that <\/span>falls and fractures in older people are often preventable<\/b> (<\/span>Office for Health Improvement and Disparities, 2022<\/span><\/a>).<\/span><\/p>\n

“No reason” usually means no reason you can see from the outside. There was no rug, no wet floor, nothing to trip on. That points the investigation inwards, towards blood pressure, medicines and strength, rather than outwards at the house.<\/span><\/p>


<\/span><\/p>\n

The five things it usually turns out to be<\/b><\/h3>

<\/b><\/div>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
\n

Cause<\/b><\/p>\n<\/th>\n

\n

What you might notice<\/b><\/p>\n<\/th>\n

\n

Who sorts it<\/b><\/p>\n<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n

\n

Blood pressure dropping when you stand up<\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

A head swim on getting out of a chair or out of bed. Worse in the morning, in hot weather, and 15 to 45 minutes after a meal<\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

GP, with a lying and standing blood pressure check<\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

\n

Medicines<\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

Falls started or worsened after a new prescription or a dose change. Drowsiness, unsteadiness, a dry mouth<\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

GP or pharmacist, through a structured medication review<\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

\n

Muscle weakness and balance<\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

Struggling to get out of a low chair without hands. Feeling unsteady turning round<\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

Falls service or a physiotherapist, through strength and balance exercise<\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

\n

Eyesight<\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

Missing the last stair. Trouble with kerbs and thresholds. Cataracts, or new varifocals<\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

Optometrist, then ophthalmology if surgery is on the table<\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

\n

Something undiagnosed<\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

A blackout, palpitations, falls with no memory of hitting the floor<\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

GP, and usually onward to a specialist<\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

Why do I feel dizzy when I stand up?<\/b><\/h3>\n

That head swim has a name. <\/span>Postural hypotension<\/b>, sometimes called orthostatic hypotension, is a drop in blood pressure on standing from sitting or lying, and it can cause dizziness, unsteadiness, blurring and occasionally a blackout. It is more common with age and it is strongly linked to falls (<\/span>Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust<\/span><\/a>).<\/span><\/p>\n

It can also happen with no symptoms at all, which is why it gets missed. It only shows up when someone measures blood pressure lying down and then standing.<\/span><\/p>\n

Ask for that measurement by name.<\/b> A lying and standing blood pressure test takes a few minutes in a GP surgery and it is one of the few tests that can explain months of unexplained falls in a single appointment.<\/span><\/p>


<\/span><\/p>\n

Can my tablets be making me fall?<\/b><\/h3>\n

Often, yes, and the number of them matters as much as which ones.<\/span><\/p>\n

Taking four or more medicines is associated with an 18 per cent increase in fall rates in people over 60<\/b>, and medicines that act on the brain, including sleeping tablets, anxiety medicines and antidepressants, raise the risk further (<\/span>Izza and colleagues, European Geriatric Medicine, 2020<\/span><\/a>).<\/span><\/p>\n

NICE lists psychotropic and antiarrhythmic medicines, along with polypharmacy, among the factors that raise falls risk, and recommends a medication review as part of falls management (<\/span>NICE NG249, April 2025<\/span><\/a>).<\/span><\/p>\n

Take the whole list, including anything bought over the counter, to a GP or pharmacist and ask which of these could be contributing. A review may change nothing, and knowing that is useful too.<\/span><\/p>


<\/span><\/p>\n

What if I have just got weaker?<\/b><\/h3>\n

Then that is the most fixable thing on the list.<\/span><\/p>\n

Strength and balance exercise reduces the rate of falls by around <\/span>23 per cent<\/b>, and the number of people who fall at all by around 15 per cent, across 108 trials involving more than 23,000 people (<\/span>Cochrane, 2019<\/span><\/a>). Balance and functional training improved this rate, walking on its own did not.<\/span><\/p>\n

The NHS recommends older adults do activity every day, build up to 150 minutes of moderate activity a week, and include strength, balance and flexibility work at least twice a week (<\/span>NHS physical activity guidelines for older adults<\/span><\/a>).<\/span><\/p>\n

There are free classes for this across the whole of Cheshire. <\/span>Stand Strong<\/b>, is a 26 week programme run by One You Cheshire East on 0300 123 5026. In Buxton and Whaley Bridge it is <\/span>Live Stronger for Longer<\/b> on 01773 766922. For Leek, Biddulph and Kidsgrove, start with <\/span>Steady On Your Feet Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent<\/span><\/a>.<\/span><\/p>


<\/span><\/p>\n

Could it be my eyes?<\/b><\/h3>\n

Possibly, and it\u2019s often put off the longest.<\/span><\/p>\n

Vision problems including cataracts sit on NICE’s list of modifiable falls risk factors, and cataract surgery is named in the guidance as an intervention that can change someone’s risk. <\/span>New varifocals cause their own trouble for a while<\/b>, because the lower part of the lens blurs the ground exactly where you need it sharp on a staircase.<\/span><\/p>\n

Free NHS sight tests are available to anyone aged 60 and over. It is a two week wait and a morning of your time.<\/span><\/p>


<\/span><\/p>\n

What if I actually blacked out?<\/b><\/h3>\n

Say so, clearly, and say it first.<\/b><\/p>\n

A fall where you cannot remember hitting the floor is a different problem from a fall where you tripped. NICE recommends that unexplained falls are investigated for a heart rhythm cause, including cardioinhibitory carotid sinus hypersensitivity, and that cardiac pacing is considered where it is indicated.<\/span><\/p>\n

Families often describe this as “she just went down”. If that is what happened, use those words with the GP rather than saying she had a fall, because the two get treated very differently.<\/span><\/p>


<\/span><\/p>\n

What should I ask the GP for?<\/b><\/h3>\n

Go in with four specific requests rather than a general worry.<\/span><\/p>\n