Falls history questionnaire
Also called: fall risk screening questions
What it means
A falls history questionnaire is a simple set of questions doctors use to check how likely you are to fall, based on past falls, balance issues, and fear of falling.
Falls are the main trigger for fractures in people with weaker bones, so spotting fall risk early helps protect you.
A falls history questionnaire is a set of standard questions your doctor or a physical therapist may ask to understand your risk of falling. It typically covers whether you've fallen in the past year, how many times, where it happened, and whether you felt dizzy, tripped, or lost your balance beforehand. It may also ask about fear of falling and how it affects your daily activities.
This questionnaire is often paired with simple physical tests, like checking how long it takes you to stand up from a chair and walk a short distance, or how steady you are standing with your eyes closed. Together, these help identify specific issues, such as muscle weakness, poor balance, vision problems, or medication side effects, that could be addressed.
For someone with low bone density, understanding fall risk matters just as much as knowing bone strength, since a fall is often the direct cause of a fracture. Answering honestly, including falls that didn't cause injury, helps your healthcare provider build a more complete picture and recommend next steps, like a home safety check or a referral to physical therapy.
Spotting your fall risk early through simple questions helps protect bones already weakened over time.
Where this leads
WordYou just learned fear itself can raise fall risk. Curious how avoiding activity out of worry actually weakens your balance and muscles over time.
Related words
Fall risk is how likely you are to fall, and it matters because falling—not just weak bones—is the most common cause…
Fear of falling is ongoing worry or anxiety about losing your balance and falling, which can make people limit their…
The Timed Up and Go (TUG) test times how long it takes someone to stand up from a chair, walk a short distance,…
The chair stand test measures leg strength and balance by timing how fast or how many times you can stand up from a…
A balance assessment is a set of simple physical tests, like standing on one leg or timed walking tasks, used to…
Polypharmacy and falls refers to the increased risk of tripping, stumbling, or losing balance that comes from taking…
Education only, not medical advice. Decisions about tests, medications and treatment belong with your own doctor. OsteoStrong does not diagnose, treat or cure any disease.
