Maintaining balance and mobility is crucial at every stage of life, as slips and falls are common and preventable injuries. Factors such as muscle strength, posture, changes in vision, and medication side effects can contribute to falls.

Assessing your personal risk is the first step to staying steady on your feet. By evaluating key health markers and making simple adjustments, you can reduce your risk and protect your independence. To learn more about assessing fall risk, we spoke with Vijay Simha, Exercise Rehabilitation Specialist & Studio Manager, UR.Life Studios, Hyderabad and below is his expert advice on how to tackle the risk of falling.

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1. Posture Analysis

Poor posture can shift your centre of gravity, increasing instability. Rounded shoulders or spinal misalignments such as kyphosis and scoliosis make balance harder. A study titled “Hyperkyphotic Posture and Risk of Injurious Falls in Older Persons”, published in The Journal of Gerontology, confirms that an exaggerated forward curvature of the spine (kyphosis) shifts your centre of gravity forward, undermines balance, and raises the risk of injurious falls. The risk of falling goes even up with reduced muscle strength.

2. Gait Analysis

Changes in the way you walk, like shorter steps, side-to-side instability, slower pace, or unsteady stride, can indicate balance issues or muscle weakness and often precede falls. Clinicians employ tools like posturography and measures of Limits of Stability (LoS) to evaluate these risks. Reduced LoS is a clear indicator of increased vulnerability to falling. A gait assessment will help you get a clear picture.

3. Vision Check-Ups

Good vision is essential for navigating obstacles and uneven surfaces. Conditions like cataracts, glaucoma, or macular degeneration can significantly increase fall risk. Regular eye check-ups every 1–2 years are recommended, especially after the age of 40.

4. Vitamin D Levels

Vitamin D deficiency weakens bones and muscles, raising both the likelihood of falls and the severity of fractures. Though supplementation alone may not reduce fall risk, especially in those without a deficiency. Combined vitamin D and calcium supplements have shown a modest benefit of around 12 per cent reduction in fall risk.

Along with this, a 2021 meta-analysis in Osteoporosis International found that adequate Vitamin D reduces fall risk by improving muscle strength and neuromuscular coordination.

5. Bone Health

Low bone density, known as osteopenia or osteoporosis, increases the risk of fractures from falls. A bone density scan, called a DEXA scan, is an effective method to assess bone strength. To strengthen your bones, it is essential to maintain a diet high in calcium and Vitamin D, engage in weight-bearing exercises, and make necessary lifestyle changes.

Related story: Development and Maintenance of Healthy Bones

6. Muscle Mass

Sarcopenia, the age-related loss of muscle mass, contributes to weakness and poor balance. It is advised to engage in resistance training and strength-building activities to reduce fall risk, while adequate protein intake helps preserve muscle mass, significantly lowering the risk of falls.

7. Core Stability

A strong core provides the foundation for good posture and balance. Weak abdominal and back muscles make sudden movements harder to control, raising the risk of stumbling. Pilates, yoga, and stability ball exercises are proven methods to improve core strength.

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8. Physical Assessment Tests

Physiotherapists often use standardised tests to measure fall risk:

• Timed Up and Go Test (TUG): Assesses how quickly and safely you can stand up, walk three metres, turn, and sit down.
• 30-Second Chair Stand Test: Measures lower-body strength and endurance by counting how many times you can stand up from a chair without using your arms.
• Four-Stage Balance Test: Evaluates your ability to maintain balance in progressively challenging positions.

9. Lifestyle Factors

A sedentary lifestyle, smoking, and heavy drinking significantly elevate the risk of falling. By incorporating daily physical activity, no matter how light, such as walking or gentle stretching, you can strengthen your muscles and improve your balance. This proactive approach to movement not only enhances your overall mobility but also helps create a more stable foundation, reducing the likelihood of falls.

10. Medications

Certain medicines, especially sedatives, antidepressants, or blood pressure drugs, can cause dizziness, drowsiness, or reduced alertness, making falls more likely. Always review your prescriptions with your healthcare provider.

Falls are not an inevitable part of ageing, but they can be predicted, tracked, and prevented. By monitoring posture, gait, vision, bone health, and muscle mass while staying active and strengthening your body, you can significantly reduce your risk. Regular health assessments and tailored physiotherapy programmes provide additional safety and peace of mind.

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At UR.Life Studios, we offer a complete multi-disciplined approach to fitness and well-being. The UR.Life Studio is a luxe wellness oasis, combining sleek modern design, lavish amenities, state-of-the-art equipment and personalised wellness programs:

• Yoga
• Kickboxing
• Pool and Bollywood aerobics
• Pregnancy care workshops
• Customised physiotherapy
• Spa
• Garden Café
• Women’s wellness programme