In case you need a reminder, the statistics are somewhat startling. Around the world each year, more than 680,000 adults die from a fall, while millions of additional adults require serious medical attention as a result of a fall. Adults over the age of 60 have the highest rates of deaths globally from falls, and in the US 20-30% of all adults who fall sustain injuries ranging from moderate to severe, including bruises, fractures, and head injuries. 13% of older adults are diagnosed with a traumatic brain injury each year, largely caused by falls. These sobering statistics all point in one direction: Falls are a legitimate concern for older adults, leading to potentially serious, life-altering, or even deadly outcomes. So whatever can be done to lessen the risks of such falls is paramount, both to the health of individuals and the greater public health of our aging societies.

With that in mind, it’s no surprise that the US Preventive Services Task Force recently published its final statement recommending exercise interventions for community-dwelling seniors at risk for falls. The Task Force found that exercise interventions were associated with a significant reduction in falls, including falls causing injury, and that healthcare professionals are advised to recommend structured exercise programs to their at-risk community-dwelling older patients. While age is one of the essential factors that can heighten the risk of falling, so too are such factors as a history of previous falls, vision or hearing impairment, mobility and balance problems, side effects from medications or alcohol use, and household hazards such as uneven flooring or clutter, and insufficient lighting. Leg muscle strength is also considered critical in assessing your risk of falling, and many of the most commonly prescribed exercise programs focus on building muscles and shoring up balance as essential in combatting the risk of falling. Better Health While Aging’s Dr. Leslie Kernisan has an excellent post on exercise to reduce your risk of falls, and her advice is as follows: “When it comes to maintaining independence and preventing falls, there are two types (of exercise) that are especially important: balance and strength…The nature of aging is that if you aren’t proactive about maintaining muscle strength and balance, these abilities will slowly dwindle over the years.”

So what kinds of exercises are recommended for this essential goal? Consumer Reports recently published a useful post for improving your balance, including such basic daily exercises as marching in place, sitting to stand, side stepping, toe raises, and heel-to-toe walking. Silver Sneakers recently posted a video on 5 Exercises to Improve Balance and our friends at Yes2Next have a terrific video of 9 exercises to help prevent falls and improve your balance. One additional new idea for using exercise to help with balance and fall prevention comes out of the University of Arizona, which recently published a paper in Frontiers in Sports and Active Living about the value of strengthening arms, in addition to legs, to help maintain balance. Dr. Jonathan Lee-Confer of The University of Arizona Health Sciences Center is recommending that older adults could easily benefit from arm abductor exercises so that arms could more quickly be employed to prevent or lessen injuries from a fall. To find out more, click here.

As we’ve previously written, no one is immune from a fall and one wrong step could land anyone in a precarious and potentially life-altering outcome. For example, a recent study of traumatic brain injuries in older adults found that wealthier, healthier, and more active older adults have a higher risk of traumatic brain injury from a fall than do more sedentary or impaired adults, perhaps because their activity levels put them at greater risk.  Even healthy older adults who should know better can’t escape the risks and injuries that come from an unexpected fall. As an example, take a look at the recent personal essay of Dr. Dwaine Rieves in The Washington Post, who, at age 70, thought he would bypass 2 slow walkers in front of him, and instead wound up in the hospital with a potentially serious brain injury from a sudden fall. Ultimately, none of us is immortal and no one can dodge the risk of a possible fall, no matter how careful you think you are. For some additional resources on how to shore up your balance and strength and lower your risk of falling, turn up the lights, put on your glasses and hearing aids, and take a look here and here.