Where the testing is done
Measura
4477 Woodson Rd, Suite 201
St. Louis, MO 63134
Monday to Friday, 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
From Florissant the route is Lindbergh Boulevard south past Lambert International Airport, then east onto Woodson Road. Interstate 270 to Interstate 70 is the alternative when Lindbergh is congested. Parking is on site and level with the entrance.
Why get a fall risk assessment instead of a quick look?
Falls are the leading cause of injury-related hospital admission in older adults, and the assessment most people get is a brief observation in a corridor.
Vestibular and balance testing measures postural control objectively. That produces a number rather than an impression, which matters in two situations: when someone is worried about a parent who insists they are fine, and when someone has had one fall and wants to know whether it was an accident or a pattern.
Dizziness, balance and falls covers what the measurement shows and what it does not.
Why do people fall?
Balance is not one sense. It is the integration of three: the inner ear, vision, and position sense from the legs and feet. Falls usually follow when two of the three are compromised at once.
That is why balance testing sits alongside the neuropathy measurements rather than apart from them. Reduced position sense from small-fiber neuropathy plus an age-related vestibular change is a far higher risk than either alone, and it is invisible if the two are assessed in separate places months apart.
Medication is the other contributor, and it is the most modifiable. Anything sedating, anything anticholinergic, and anything that drops blood pressure on standing all raise fall risk measurably.
Cognition, measured rather than estimated
Cognitive screening is included where it is relevant, and the reason to do it early is the same as everywhere else in this panel: a single score is hard to interpret, and a change from a person’s own baseline is not.
Families frequently arrive with a concern that has been building for a year and no record of what things looked like before it started. A baseline taken while someone is well is the thing that makes the later comparison meaningful.
Cognitive assessment and fall prevention covers how the two interact.
Frequently asked questions
My parent says they are fine. Is this worth doing?
That is the common situation, and it is exactly what an objective measurement settles. It replaces a disagreement about impressions with a number.
Is balance testing difficult?
No. You stand on a platform under supervision while postural control is measured. There is nothing to pass or fail.
Will this tell us whether it is dementia?
No. Cognitive screening is a screen, not a diagnosis. What it provides is a baseline and a reason to investigate further or not.
How is a fall risk assessment performed?
You stand on a platform under supervision while the equipment measures your postural control, meaning how steadily you hold your balance. There is nothing to pass or fail. Because balance depends on the inner ear, vision and position sense from the legs and feet, the balance measurement sits alongside the neuropathy tests instead of being done in a separate place months apart.
What is the purpose of a fall risk assessment?
To replace an impression with a number. Most people get a brief observation in a corridor. An objective measurement of postural control settles two common questions: whether a parent who insists they are fine really is, and whether a first fall was an accident or the start of a pattern. A number also gives the family something concrete to compare against later.
Can medications increase your risk of falling?
Yes, and medication is the most modifiable contributor. Anything sedating, anything anticholinergic, and anything that drops blood pressure when you stand up all raise fall risk measurably. It matters most when balance is already strained, because falls usually follow when two of the three systems that keep you upright, the inner ear, vision and position sense, are compromised at once.
Nearby communities
Medically reviewed by Dr. Gurpreet Singh Padda, MD, MBA, MHP, medical director of Measura. Last reviewed .