Your guide to fall prevention for seniors: Staying safe, strong, and independent
Balance plays a key role in healthy aging. As we age, our bodies experience a variety of changes, which can lead to a higher risk of falling. Falls are the top cause of injury and hospital visits for older adults, but many falls can be avoided. With the right fall prevention strategies, including a consistent exercise program, seniors can stay active, safe, and independent well into their later years.
This guide will walk you through everything you need to know about exercises for seniors, fall prevention, and how to improve balance and coordination.
Why balance training matters for older adults
Every year, one in four adults over 65 experiences a fall. These events can be the catalyst for over 3 million emergency room visits each year, and are the leading cause of injury-related death in older adults. But, losing a sense of balance isn't the only variable that contributes to an increase in falls. While a variety of factors can affect our fall risk as we get older, many of these things are within our control to improve with regular exercise and lifestyle changes.
The cost of falls
Falls don't just cause physical injuries. They can precede other negative impacts on our quality of life by leading to:
- Loss of independence
- Fear of falling (which is correlated with fall risk)
- Reduced activity levels
- Social isolation
- Depression and anxiety
- Long-term disability
That’s why fall prevention strategies are so important: they help you maintain not just your physical health, but your quality of life.
How does your body control balance and coordination?
Your balance system is complex and amazing. The main processing center is your brain, which combines inputs from three main systems to develop a sense of balance:
Eyes (visual system): Provides visual feedback on the environment around you, allowing your brain to infer where you are in space and whether you’re moving.
Muscles and joints (proprioceptive system): Tell your brain where your body and limbs are in space.
Inner ear (vestibular system): Gives the brain feedback on where the head is in space and with respect to gravity.
As we age, our ability to use any or all three systems can decline, so staying balanced may become more challenging. The good news? Regular exercise can improve how well these systems work together, and specialized training can help to address specific systems when there is an obvious deficit.
Common causes of balance problems in seniors
Understanding why you may be losing balance is the first step of fall prevention. Common causes include:
Modifiable risk factors (you can change these)
A sedentary lifestyle can lead to muscle weakness, especially in the legs and core, making it harder to stabilize yourself.
Environmental hazards, such as cluttered walkways or poor lighting.
Medication side effects that may cause dizziness, drowsiness, or slowed reaction times.
- If you think your medication may be causing changes to your balance, work with your doctor to review timing, dosage, or alternatives
Non-modifiable risk factors (you must adapt to these)
Vision changes. This can include simple changes in near or farsighted ability or declining night vision, as well as more serious conditions such as cataracts or glaucoma. All of these make it harder for the brain to rely on visual inputs to judge distance and obstacles, and develop a good sense of where the body is within its environment.
Conditions that affect your musculoskeletal system or neuro-muscular system. This includes movement disorders like Parkinson’s disease, joint diseases like osteoarthritis, or metabolic conditions like diabetes.
Inner ear problems (like Meniere’s disease) that affect the brain’s ability to adequately use its vestibular system
Signs you may be at risk for falls
You may need to focus on balance training if you find yourself:
- Using your arms to push up from a chair instead of your legs
- Shuffling your feet instead of lifting them while walking
- Leaning forward or noticing other posture changes that affect your balance
- Feeling unsteady when standing
- Feeling dizzy or lightheaded
- Holding onto furniture while walking
- Struggling to walk in the dark
- Avoiding activities because of a fear of falling
When to seek professional help
If you notice any of these signs or experience other changes in your balance, it’s important to talk to your healthcare provider about what you can do to prevent falls. See a doctor if:
- You’ve fallen in the past year
- You feel dizzy or unsteady often
- Medications may be affecting your balance
- You have chronic conditions that affect stability
How exercise improves balance
Research shows that regular exercise is one of the most effective fall prevention strategies. Balance training can improve coordination between different balance systems and help you practice recovering from small losses of balance. Here's how different types of exercise can help:
Strength training
This includes exercises that increase muscular strength by working through a form of resistance, like body weight or additional weights. Examples include squats or sit-to-stand exercises, and compound movements like push press.
Benefits
- Combat age-related muscle loss
- Improve your ability to catch yourself if you start to fall
- Enhance your power to get up from chairs and climb stairs
- Strengthen muscles that keep you upright
Dual-task training
Practicing physical and mental tasks together mimics daily life and is crucial for fall prevention because most falls happen when we're distracted or doing multiple things at once. Examples include walking while counting backwards, or lifting one foot while reciting the alphabet.
Benefits
- Train your brain to handle multiple tasks improves how quickly you can respond to balance threats
- Better coordination of quick movements is needed to catch yourself if you start to fall
Tai Chi
Research shows that Tai Chi, a low-impact Chinese martial art with slow, flowing movements and deep breathing, can help with balance.
Benefits
- Enhance body awareness and coordination
- Practice weight shifting in all directions
- Develop better posture and alignment
- Combine physical movement with mental focus
Fall prevention strategies beyond exercise
Exercise is only part of the picture. A comprehensive fall prevention approach includes other important strategies:
Environmental hazards
- Remove or secure loose rugs.
- Keep walkways clear of clutter.
- Install handrails and grab bars.
- Wear proper shoes with non-slip soles.
Other lifestyle changes
- Staying hydrated to avoid dizziness.
- Regular vision and hearing checks to stay aware of your surroundings.
- Medication reviews with your doctor to reduce dizziness or drowsiness.
- Quality sleep to maintain coordination and reaction time.
Overcoming fear of falling
If you’ve fallen before, or know someone who has, it’s natural to worry about falling again. Unfortunately, allowing that fear to prevent you from staying active can actually increase your risk of a future fall. Leveraging that fear into motivation to get active in a regular exercise routine is a proven path forward to actually mitigating your future risk of falls.
Key takeaways: Your path to better balance
Losing balance as we age is common, but fall prevention strategies like regular exercise with an emphasis on strength and balance training make a big difference. Bold has hundreds of classes for you to work on better balance.
Key tips to manage fall risk:
- Talk to your doctor about fall prevention strategies, including exercise, home safety, medical checkups, and a positive mindset.
- Once cleared for exercise, start with movements you feel comfortable doing.
- Explore your comfort zone with exercise and learn how to push the boundaries without crossing them.
- Use support as needed (chair, wall, or rail) until you feel more confident.
- Celebrate small improvements and focus on progress, not setbacks.
- Stay socially connected. Group classes like Bold’s live classes can help build confidence.
- Talk to your doctor about fall prevention strategies, including exercise, home safety, medical checkups, and a positive mindset.
It’s never too late to start. Every step you take toward better balance is a step toward greater independence and confidence. Get moving today with Bold. Check if you’re eligible through your health plan and get moving today.