Pain Is Associated With Poor Balance in Community-Dwelling Older Adults: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis

Objectives: Pain is a risk factor for falls in older adults, but the mechanisms are not well understood, limiting our ability to implement effective preventive strategies. The aim of this study was to systematically review and synthesize the literature that has examined the impact of pain on static, dynamic, multicomponent, and reactive balance in community-dwelling older adults.

Design: Systematic review and meta-analysis.

Setting And Participants: Studies from inception to March 2019 were identified from electronic databases (MEDLINE, EMBASE, PsycINFO, CINAHL), contact with the primary authors, and reference lists of included articles.

Methods: Cross-sectional and case-control studies that compared objective balance measures between older (minimum age 60 years) adults with and without pain were included.

Results: Thirty-nine eligible studies (n = 17,626) were identified. All balance modalities (static, dynamic, multicomponent, and reactive) were significantly poorer in participants with pain compared to those without pain. Subgroup analyses revealed that chronic pain (pain persisting ≥3 months) impaired balance more than pain of unspecified duration. The effects of pain at specific sites (neck, lower back, hip, knee, and foot) on balance were not significantly different.

Conclusions And Implications: Pain is associated with poor static, dynamic, multicomponent, and reactive balance in community-dwelling older adults. Pain in the neck, lower back, hip, knee, and foot all contribute to poor balance, and this is even more pronounced for chronic pain. Comprehensive balance and pain characteristic assessments may reveal mechanisms underlying the contribution of pain to instability and increased fall risk in older people.