A recent analysis of the impact of falls has revealed some pretty scary statistics. According to the review, 5% of people who break their hip in a fall die when in hospital, and 25% die within a year as a result of the disability it causes.

Further to this, more than 10% go on to be admitted to aged care facilities. And you don’t need to be old to suffer these effects; the study found that more than a third of people aged 50 never regain their full mobility. One quote from the article was that “Most people never go back to their previous level of function. It hugely impacts their quality of life,” said Professor Close.

So, how do we prevent falls? Ideally, you want to have good balance, and good strength in your thigh muscles.

Here is an article with a series of ankle balance exercises: http://www.chrisjonesosteo.com.au/?p=1065

Here is an article on using Tai Chi to improve knee arthritis, as well as balance and strength: http://www.chrisjonesosteo.com.au/?p=402

Other tips include regular walking, quad strengthening exercises like leg press or leg extensions, or squats and lunges. If these sound too advanced, you can always just practice standing up from your chair repeatedly eg stand up, sit down, x 10 reps, and do 3 sets of that.

And be sure to monitor your bone mineral density levels, as if this is low it increases the chance your hip will fracture if you do fall. For more advice on improving BMD check this article: http://www.chrisjonesosteo.com.au/?p=102

To see the full Sydney Morning Herald Article click here.