Exercising balance and leg strength for people over 60, plus home modifications
Practicing balance exercises two to three times a week, such as Tai Chi, reduces the number of falls in the elderly by approximately 23% and the number of people who fall by 15%. Hiring someone to conduct home assessments and modifications reduces the number of falls by approximately 20%. Falls are the leading cause of injury-related deaths among people aged 65 and over in China, and more than half of these occur within their own homes.
Aim to practice balance exercises two to three times per w…
Cochrane analyzed 108 separate trials involving 23,407 participants. Collectively, these studies show that reg…
Aim to practice balance exercises two to three times per week, each session lasting 30 minutes — activities like Tai Chi work well. Installing non-slip mats, handrails, and night lights in bathrooms and stairways costs anywhere from a few dozen to several hundred yuan. The real challenge is maintaining this routine over the long term.
Cochrane analyzed 108 separate trials involving 23,407 participants. Collectively, these studies show that regular exercise lowers fall rates among older adults by 23%. The relative risk of falls dropped to 0.77, with a 95% confidence interval ranging from 0.71 to 0.83. The proportion of individuals experiencing at least one fall also fell by 15% (relative risk 0.85). Professional home safety assessments and modifications further reduced fall rates by roughly 20% (RR 0.81; 95% CI 0.68–0.97). Practicing Tai Chi specifically lowered fall risk by about 29% (RR 0.71). In China, falls remain the top cause of injury-related mortality for seniors over 65; data from 2018 indicates that 55.97% of all falls among this age group occur at home.
Sherrington C 等 (2019). Exercise for preventing falls in older people living in the community. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews. https://doi.org/10.1002/14651858.CD012424.pub2 ; Gillespie LD 等 (2012). Interventions for preventing falls in older people living in the community. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews. https://doi.org/10.1002/14651858.CD007146.pub3 ; Lu Z 等 (2021). Characteristics of Falls Among Older People — China, 2018. China CDC Weekly. https://doi.org/10.46234/ccdcw2021.013
Open source linkThis applies to people aged 60 and over who live at home, not in nursing homes. The studies above counted falls, not deaths. In older people, the path from a fall to a hip fracture and then death can be short. Poor vision also increases falls; for cataracts that affect seeing the way ahead, see Section 17, item 9 (cataract surgery). For older people pulled over while walking a dog, see Section 17, item 10 (older people walking dogs). Whether bones can withstand a fall is covered in item 39 of this section (bone density screening).