Falling without dizziness? Doctors pls.help...?

Question

My Mom is old..recently she felt like something is pushing her backword..she tried to control but she fell and got a 5.mm.fracture in her tailbone.

today again she fell on her side hurt her elbow already injured by a previous fall.
she says she does not feel dizzy she just falls.

why does this happens?...and how big is 5.mm fracture?..she has pain but is still moving .

Answer 1

25.4 mm = 1 inch. has she got a balance problem or is she losing the ability to co-ordinate her movements. Is there a possibility that she is moving to fast when mobile. This could be a problem with her motor function which could have deteriated due to age but habit has her moving at her normal speed while brain function can't keep up. It may be time to get a walker for her to use to prevent falls and her breaking a hip or other body part's. Hope this helps.

Answer 2

i'm not a doctor but I do know some biology. I have a feeling that your mo is feeling dizzy spells. Dizziness is a pretty hard to define feeling and not everyone feels it in the same way. If she is spontaneously losing her balance, then I think that counts dizziness. The good news is that vertigo, as it's typically called in the medical field is very common and not serious over 90% of the time.

I don't know much about fractures though, 5 mm does sound like a significant break to me but again I am not a doctor. Is the separation between the break points 5mm? If so that is a pretty big difference.

To comment on the first answer, it is technically possible that ALS is the culprit here but als is very rare, Many people get fainting or dizzy spells from time to time, She should get checked out by a doctor but don't go looking around for all the scary diseases this could be that wont accomplish anything but frighten you..

Answer 3

She may need to be checked out by a neurologist. My mother began falling 2 years ago. She fell for the first time walking into my daughter's school. A year later (october of last year), she was diagnosed with Lou Gehrigs Disease (ALS). This is a terminal disease that kills the motor neurons in the body which cause the muscles to atrophy and die. She has lost the ability to walk almost and can barely talk. More symptoms include slurred speech, inability to use ones hands, inappropriate laughter or crying, cramping of hands and feet, difficulty with swallowing, etc. A great website to check this disease out is www.alsa.org. Hopefully this isnt what this is, but its something to think about. Best of luck.

Answer 4

Falling backward without dizziness is symptomatic of Parkinson's Disease. Have her checked out by a neurologist.

Answer 5

I black out when I stand up just like youre talking about, or when I was nervous or had anxiety about something. I did get a bit dizzier when I was pregnant. You probably have a vasal vegal reaction, both me and my mom have it.. andmy grandmother to a lesser degree. It causes your already low BP to drop at times when it shouldnt. Its not a serious medical condition, just one of the quirks that makes us who we are. For me, it got better when I started exercising regularly and taking a good multi vitamin. When I was pregnant, it went away after the 1st trimester, just about the same time my morning sickness went away. Personally I believe my upset stomach made it worse. I have a tendancy to clench my diaphram, making isso much harder for my BP to regulate and everything, with the upset stomach I was doing that sooo much more. Dont know if thats anything like your condition. But i do know what its like to pass out, or faint, or have a panic attack and think you're dying of heart failure, and to have all your doctors look at you like you're insane. I wouldnt stress it. I was always able to catch myself, just like you have been able to. I never fell on my belly, usually i could just sink to my knees.

Answer 6

This can be a lot of things including a small stroke. She needs to see a doctor about this. The sooner the better.