Abstract
In a comparative literature review 51 studies representing a variety of professions and social and ethnic population diversity were analyzed. The effects of chronic pain on the functioning of older adults and the factors associated with the risk of falling were compared to determine areas of overlap. Fifty-eight percent of the chronic pain studies identified effects that are recognized as risk factors for falls, yet few studies on falls have considered chronic pain as an independent variable. The relationship between chronic pain in the elderly and its potential as a risk factor for falls warrants further study.