Following on from previous articles where we looked at ability to perform normal everyday functions as being an important predictor of having a fall for older people, new research has shown the amount of pain someone is in will also be a key predictor. Which makes sense when you think about it – if you’re in pain, you’re probably not going to be walking properly, you might have a limp, favour one side, and thus be a bit off balance.
Basically what they found was that the more sites of pain …

We’ve previously looked at the effects of exercise on reducing the risk of falls in the elderly (HYPERLINK), following on from that I’d like to look at a couple of studies that examine the role of weight/resistance training on improving the physical function of “older adults” and then a study which has shown that having good physical function will reduce the risk of an “older adult” being hospitalised (HYPERLINK).
First up, the article on the benefits of resistance training. This was a Cochrane Review (http://www.cochrane.org/reviews/en/ab002759.html), and for those who don’t know …

Or even just a little clumsy? Heck, we’ve all been a little “inelegant” when we’ve had one too many before, right? I wanted to summarise the information in an article I read recently (a systematic review of 44 previous trials with a total of 9603 people—that’s a lot!) where they looked at:
1. whether exercise programs were able to prevent falls in older people; and
2. what sort of exercise is best for helping prevent falls.
The overwhelming result from these studies was that exercise can help prevent falls.
Some studies found better results …