[For Seniors] Fun and Easy! Fall-Prevention Exercises for Older Adults
As we age, the risk of falling increases due to declines in physical function and lack of exercise.
People may have trouble lifting their feet while walking, trip over small steps, or feel unsteady when initiating movements such as standing up or starting to walk.
In this article, we will introduce fall-prevention exercises and routines for older adults.
To prevent falls, it is important to continue exercises that rebuild lost muscle strength, with a focus on lower-body movements targeting the legs and hips.
Many fall-prevention exercises can be done while seated in a chair, making them easier for older adults to try.
There are also creative and engaging exercises available—why not enjoy preventing falls while having fun?
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[For Seniors] Fun and Easy! Fall-Prevention Exercises for Older Adults (61–70)
Leg strength training
As we get older, pain in the hip and knee joints can develop and interfere with daily life.
Movements like standing up, sitting down, and going up and down stairs use the muscles in the thighs, calves, and below the knees.
In addition, strengthening the gluteal muscles improves posture and can help alleviate lower back and knee pain.
To help prevent becoming bedridden, let’s start building leg strength.
This exercise can be done while lying down on a mat or futon, so it’s recommended for older adults as well.
Arm-swinging exercise
For older adults, building muscle strength is important to help prevent falls.
Even without intense exercise, this arm-swing exercise can be continued comfortably.
Arm swinging is very important for strengthening the core and lower limbs during walking.
As the arms swing forward and backward, pelvic rotation is moderately controlled, allowing smoother lower-limb movement.
It also helps improve balance.
The key to this exercise is to be mindful of your posture while swinging your arms.
It’s nice that you can do it at home.
Iliopsoas training
This is a training exercise to strengthen the iliopsoas, an important inner muscle that connects the upper and lower body.
Lie on your back and place your hands on your stomach.
Make sure your lower back is pressed firmly against the floor, as a gap between your lower back and the floor can cause back pain.
From this position, lift your right leg, touch your right heel to your left knee, and return.
Do the same on the left side.
Another effective core-strengthening move is to start with your knees bent and lift your legs as if bringing your knees closer to your body.
These exercises can help prevent unsteadiness while walking and may also improve sensitivity to cold.
Try incorporating them into your daily training routine.
Kneeling balance practice
In our usual way of standing, we might hold onto something, but we rarely pay attention to the finer details.
This exercise intentionally makes your stance unstable so you can become aware of the muscles you use when standing and improve your balance.
Slowly move into a kneeling position, and from an upright kneel, shift your weight to one side at a time while paying attention to which muscles you’re engaging.
Since kneeling and maintaining balance can be difficult, use a chair for support or try other methods that make it easier as you go.
Newspaper-pulling-with-your-feet game
Here’s a game that gets you moving your feet while having fun and training at the same time.
Have older adults sit in a chair and pull a sheet of newspaper with their feet.
They can pull it with one foot or with both feet together.
You can also have two older adults sit facing each other at a distance and compete—it should be fun.
Besides providing leg exercise, it’s likely to increase interaction among older adults and bring more smiles.
It can also help with a change of pace and stress relief.
Please give it a try.
Toe training
To help older adults stay healthy for as long as possible, it’s important to maintain balance function.
Walking is healthy, but it also carries a risk of falls.
For those who feel uneasy about that, we recommend toe exercises to train balance.
In fact, strengthening the toes can improve stability while walking and standing.
It can also help with foot problems such as hallux valgus (bunions) and floating toes, and may make your feet less prone to fatigue.
These exercises are easy to do while seated, so they’re suitable for any older adult.
Plus, you can enjoy fun activities like rock-paper-scissors with your toes, which can also help improve communication among seniors.
Ashi-fumi A-I-U-Be exercises
Let’s do “marching in place” while practicing the “Ai-U-Be” mouth exercise.
This routine is recommended for older adults who are already comfortable moving their mouths into “A” and “I” shapes with the Ai-U-Be exercise.
By adding marching, you can also strengthen the iliopsoas at the hip and the abdominal muscles.
It can even help train the gluteal muscles.
This supports balance in older adults and helps prevent falls.
The key points are to move your mouth widely and stick out your tongue when vocalizing.
Exaggerating the movements a bit more than you would in normal conversation—within your comfortable range—can enhance the benefits.
Please make good use of this exercise.