How Strength and Balance Exercise Can Help Reduce the Risk of Falls in Older Adults
Updated: Sep 5
Falls are a common concern as we get older, but becoming less steady on your feet does not necessarily mean that you have to accept a loss of confidence or independence.
One of the most useful things you can do is continue to work on your strength, balance and general mobility.
Our bodies adapt to what we ask them to do. If we gradually become less active, spend more time sitting down or avoid certain activities because we feel unsteady, our muscles can become weaker and our balance can become less effective.
Unfortunately, this can sometimes create a cycle.
You feel slightly unsteady, so you move less. Moving less leads to reduced strength and confidence. Everyday activities then begin to feel more difficult, so you become even less active.
The good news is that appropriate exercise can help break this cycle.
Why do people become more unsteady as they get older?
Good balance is actually quite complicated.
Your body relies on information from your eyes, inner ear, joints, muscles and nervous system to work out where you are and keep you upright.
At the same time, you need enough strength to react if you lose your balance.
For example, imagine that you catch your foot slightly on the edge of a rug.
Your body needs to recognise that you are moving forwards, quickly move your leg, produce enough strength to take a corrective step and then regain control of your body.
All of this happens very quickly.
Changes in strength, mobility, vision, sensation, reaction time and confidence can therefore all influence someone's risk of falling.
Certain medications and health conditions can also affect balance, so anyone experiencing new or unexplained balance problems should consider discussing them with an appropriate healthcare professional.
Why leg strength matters
Strong legs make everyday movement easier.
You use your leg muscles every time you:
stand up from a chair, climb the stairs, step onto a kerb, get in and out of a car, walk around the shops or recover your balance after a stumble.
One of the most noticeable changes people experience when their leg strength decreases is difficulty getting out of a chair.
They may start pushing heavily through their arms or rocking forwards several times before they can stand.
This is one reason strengthening exercises are such an important part of a falls prevention programme.
Exercises such as repeated sit to stands, supported squats, heel raises and stepping exercises can gradually challenge the muscles needed for everyday movement.
The exercise chosen needs to be appropriate for the individual, which is why exercises can often be made easier or more difficult depending on someone's ability.
Balance needs to be challenged to improve
Walking is excellent exercise, but walking alone does not necessarily challenge every aspect of balance.
Balance exercises deliberately place you in situations where your body has to work a little harder to keep you stable.
This could include standing with your feet closer together, changing direction, stepping around objects, reaching, practising controlled weight shifts or performing exercises with a smaller base of support.
The important word ischallenge.
If an exercise is extremely easy, it may not provide enough stimulus for improvement.
However, an exercise should also be performed safely.
This is particularly important for anyone who already has significant balance difficulties or has experienced falls.
The importance of practising everyday movements
Falls prevention exercise should not only involve isolated exercises.
It should also help improve the movements that people actually need during everyday life.
For example, practising sit to stands can help with getting out of a chair.
Stepping exercises can help when navigating obstacles and kerbs.
Calf strengthening can contribute to walking and stair climbing.
Changing direction and reaching can challenge balance in ways that are relevant to moving around the home and community.
The aim is not simply to become better at an exercise.
The aim is to make everyday movement feel easier, safer and more confident.
Confidence matters too
After experiencing a fall or near fall, it is understandable that someone may become more cautious.
However, sometimes that caution develops into avoiding activity altogether.
A person might stop walking outside, avoid stairs, turn down social activities or begin relying increasingly on other people.
Over time, this can contribute to further weakness and reduced confidence.
Gradually returning to appropriate activity can therefore be an important part of rebuilding confidence.
Exercise in a supervised environment can also be reassuring for people who are nervous about exercising alone.
What else can help reduce the risk of falls?
Exercise is important, but falls prevention is rarely about just one thing.
It is also worth considering footwear, eyesight, medication, lighting around the home and potential trip hazards.
If someone has experienced repeated falls, unexplained dizziness, sudden weakness or a significant recent change in their balance, they should seek appropriate medical advice rather than simply starting an exercise programme.
Try our Strength & Balance Group in Joydens Wood
At Tom Morgan Physio Solutions, we run a weeklyPhysio Led Strength & Balance Groupat St Barnabas Church in Joydens Wood.
The class is designed for older adults who would like to improve their strength, balance, mobility and confidence.
Exercises can be adapted to different abilities, so you do not need to already be fit or confident with exercise to attend.
The class runs every Thursday from6:00 pm to 7:00 pmand costs£12 per session.
Places are limited and advance booking is required.
Interested in improving your strength and balance?
Visit our booking page to reserve your place in the next Strength & Balance Group.
Important information
This article provides general information and is not a substitute for individual medical or physiotherapy advice. If you have experienced unexplained falls, new dizziness, sudden weakness, chest pain, loss of consciousness or a significant change in your mobility or balance, seek appropriate medical advice.
For more physiotherapist-led strength, balance and falls-prevention information, see theStrength & Balance Physiotherapy Resource Hub.
If you are local to Bexley, Dartford or Joydens Wood and want supervised progression, see thephysiotherapist-led Strength & Balance classfor session details and booking.
Exercise Class for Older Adults Near Bexley: Strength, Balance and Walking Confidence
If you need advice tailored to you, book a physiotherapy assessment.
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