REFERENCE · RECOVERY TECHNIQUE
Keeping Other Conditions in the Care Plan
When this may help: When more than one symptom or event contributes to falls, identify the patterns and give each the assessment and treatment it needs. [Clinical assessment and coordinated care; treatment response does not establish cause]
For the Person With FND
For Family, Friends, and Other Supporters
For Clinicians and the Care Team
Research and Sources
—
For the Person With FND
One person can have more than one kind of event
“Drop attack” describes a sudden fall. It does not identify its cause. Even after functional drop attacks have been diagnosed, a person can also trip, have a weak leg give way, faint or experience another kind of event. Unexplained, idiopathic and cryptogenic mean the cause is not established; those words alone do not confirm FND. [1][2][3]
Treating an overlapping problem may make life safer or easier without resolving every attack. You should not have to wait for FND recovery before receiving care for another condition.
Describe the differences in ordinary words
Tell the clinician what you remember before, during and after each pattern. Useful distinctions include a trip you remember, knee buckling, light-headedness on standing, a definite blackout, a spinning sensation, prolonged confusion or an unusually slow recovery. These descriptions guide assessment; none is a home diagnostic test. [1][2]
A supporter can add a brief account with your permission. If video is ever discussed, safety and consent come first; no one should provoke an event or delay help to record it.
Match care to the assessed problem
| Possible overlap | What the plan may need |
|---|---|
| Functional gait difficulty or limb weakness | Assessment of walking, support and suitable movement practice |
| Functional seizures or another seizure-like event | A separate event diagnosis and response plan |
| Syncope—fainting from reduced blood flow to the brain—or upright intolerance | Relevant medical assessment, including cardiovascular or orthostatic review when indicated |
| Dizziness or a vestibular problem | Assessment of the balance system and condition-specific care |
| Cataplexy or other sleep-related symptoms | Appropriate sleep/neurological assessment; cataplexy is a different cause of sudden muscle weakness |
| Pain, fatigue, sleep disruption, vision problems or medicine effects | Targeted review and treatment of the identified contributor |
This is a map for discussion, not a checklist of tests everyone needs. The event history and examination determine what is relevant. The co-occurring conditions collection introduces care options for several common contributors. [1][2][4]
Keep the treatment plans connected
Ask the prescriber to review possible medication effects; do not stop prescribed treatment to see whether attacks change. If different clinicians give incompatible advice, ask who will coordinate it. Record the outcome that matters for each problem: less dizziness is valuable even if a separate no-warning fall pattern remains. [1][4][5]
Recognize a changed pattern
Definite loss of consciousness, chest pain, breathing difficulty, sustained palpitations, new neurological symptoms, prolonged confusion or delayed recovery requires prompt appropriate assessment, urgently when severe. New stroke-like symptoms are an emergency. Injury needs its own response. A familiar FND diagnosis should not be used to explain a new event automatically. [1][4][6]
When attacks persist without an emergency change, ask for follow-up, continuing safety measures and access support. Persistent symptoms are not a reason for care to end. [5]
For the Person With FND
For Family, Friends, and Other Supporters
For Clinicians and the Care Team
Research and Sources
—
For Family, Friends, and Other Supporters
Help describe what was observed rather than deciding the cause: “you said you felt faint before this one” is more useful than “that was another functional attack.” Respect what the person does and does not remember.
With permission, help keep separate instructions easy to find. An event plan should make your response clearer, not make you responsible for diagnosing every fall.
For the Person With FND
For Family, Friends, and Other Supporters
For Clinicians and the Care Team
Research and Sources
—
For Clinicians and the Care Team
Phenotype each event, including prodrome, recall, consciousness, mechanics, duration, injury and recovery. Consider syncope, epilepsy, cataplexy, vestibular disorders and mechanical or structural contributors where indicated. A prior functional diagnosis and normal earlier investigations do not settle a new presentation. [1][2]
Use proportionate targeted assessment, explain the resulting formulation and coordinate symptom-specific care. Neither an observational association nor a response to treatment demonstrates the mechanism of all events. Continue fall prevention and participation support when the event mechanism remains uncertain. [2][5]
For the Person With FND
For Family, Friends, and Other Supporters
For Clinicians and the Care Team
Research and Sources
—
Research and Sources
The retrospective cohort supports clinical overlap and careful classification; it is not a diagnostic rule for all sudden falls. Broader FND guidance supports concurrent care. This page expands the original overlap entry rather than adding a new recovery technique for each possible condition. [1][2][5]
Evidence reviewed: September 24, 2026. Examples are educational illustrations, not patient quotations or tested protocols.
| Citation | Full citation and stable record | Support and limits | Figure |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bennett K, Diamond C, Hoeritzauer I, Gardiner P, McWhirter L, Carson A, Stone J. A practical review of functional neurological disorder (FND) for the general physician. Clinical Medicine. 2021;21(1):28–36. https://doi.org/10.7861/clinmed.2020-0987 FND-CIT-0001 | Practical clinical review: positive diagnosis and coexisting conditions, not a drop-attack treatment trial. | — |
| 2 | Hoeritzauer I, Carson AJ, Stone J. “Cryptogenic drop attacks” revisited: evidence of overlap with functional neurological disorder. Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery & Psychiatry. 2018;89(7):769–776. https://doi.org/10.1136/jnnp-2017-317396 FND-CIT-0059 | Retrospective drop-attack cohort; clinical overlap and naturalistic outcomes cannot establish treatment efficacy or diagnose every unexplained fall. | — |
| 3 | Stone J. Functional drop attacks. Neurosymptoms.org. Accessed September 24, 2026. https://neurosymptoms.org/en/symptoms/fnd-symptoms/functional-drop-attacks/ FND-CIT-0061 | Specialist education and practical ideas; not controlled treatment evidence. Typical descriptions must not be used to rule out serious injury. | — |
| 4 | NHS. Falls. Reviewed March 6, 2025; accessed September 24, 2026. Source. FND-CIT-0216 | General falls safety and care guidance; not an FND trial. Transfer and activity advice needs adaptation to the person and any injury. | — |
| 5 | Nicholson C, Edwards MJ, Carson AJ, et al. Occupational therapy consensus recommendations for functional neurological disorder. Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery & Psychiatry. 2020;91(10):1037–1045. https://doi.org/10.1136/jnnp-2019-322281 FND-CIT-0011 | FND occupational therapy consensus: activity and access planning; not direct evidence that equipment or an individual adaptation prevents drop attacks. | — |
| 6 | NHS. Symptoms of a stroke. Reviewed September 12, 2024; accessed September 17, 2026. Source. FND-CIT-0108 | Stroke emergency guidance; new neurological symptoms require assessment despite an FND diagnosis. | — |
For the Person With FND
For Family, Friends, and Other Supporters
For Clinicians and the Care Team
Research and Sources
—