Staying Safe and Active: The Best Fall Prevention Tips for Seniors

One of the less desirable effects of aging is that it’s not as easy to get around as it was when we were younger. This might be a discouraging, or even frightening, reality. Perhaps you are less inclined to take advantage of opportunities for outings or afraid of being as active as you would like to be.

In this guide, we offer several tips to help you avoid falls and explain how you can respond during such accidents if they do happen. Be proactive about yourself and your surroundings so that you can enjoy a safer but no less stimulating environment.

Table of Contents

• What Are the Most Common Causes of Falls in Senior Adults?
• 15 Tips To Prevent Falls for Seniors 
• What Action Should You Take if You Fall?
• Senior Services of America: Senior Communities Where Comfort and Safety Are Top Priorities

What Are the Most Common Causes of Falls in Senior Adults?

Many changes that accompany aging make us more susceptible to falling. These include:

• Diminished sight, hearing, muscle mass, or reflexes
• Medical conditions that cause cognitive impairment
• Foot, nerve, or thyroid problems
• Medications with side effects like dizziness or confusion
• Medical conditions that affect balance or walking, such as diabetes, heart disease, and hypotension.

15 Tips to Prevent Falls for Seniors

If you educate yourself about the things that increase your risk of falls and take action to avoid them as much as possible, you will be able to keep yourself safer and healthier. 

#1: Stay Active

One of the most important priorities you can set to prevent falls is to get regular physical activity. This is the main way you can keep yourself strong, flexible, coordinated, and balanced. 

A physical therapist can tailor an exercise program that is ideal for you, or you can try the following excellent exercises for senior adults:

• Walking
• Water aerobics or swimming
• Tai chi
• Yoga
• Resistance training
• Seated workouts
• Cycling or stationary biking

#2: Take Steps to Remove Fall Risks in the Home

Your home might be full of hazards that you never noticed. Take these precautions to make your home safer:

• Keep electrical cords and furniture out of walking paths.
• Be aware of where your pets are as you move about the house.
• Use a reach stick to reach things up high. Avoid standing on chairs.
• Remove loose rugs, and place non-slip strips on tile/wood floors.
• Items you use often should be kept at a level that is easy to reach.
• Treat your outdoor walkways with a melting product or sand when they are icy.
• Avoid walking on slippery floors. Clean up spills immediately.
• Make sure your seating areas are at a height that is not too difficult for you to get into and out of.
• Handrails should be installed on both sides of stairs, near toilets, and on the inside and outside of the tub.
• Ensure good lighting along pathways you traverse at night and along staircases. Light switches should be within easy reach.

While these measures will not eliminate the possibility of falls, they will significantly reduce them.

#3: Check Vision and Hearing

The World Health Organization recommends that seniors above the age of 65 get their vision checked annually and their hearing tested every 1-3 years. 

Getting the necessary aids to correct vision and hearing can contribute positively to seniors’ quality of life by improving social interactions and their ability to make appropriate judgments regarding moving within their physical surroundings. 

Poor eyesight can make stumbling and tripping almost inevitable. Poor hearing can make balance and movement more difficult because your body can’t respond appropriately to the audible cues regarding its location.

#4: Get Enough Quality Sleep

There may be several things keeping you up at night, such as anxiety, pain, or illness, but working to develop a healthy sleep schedule of 7-9 hours per night can help you feel more positive, improve your memory, and reduce your risk of falls.

Some actions you can take to improve your sleep are:

• Go to bed and wake up around the same time every day.
• Do something relaxing an hour or so before bedtime. Avoid screens, as the light from electronic devices can make falling asleep hard.
• Turn the lights down low to facilitate relaxation.
• Don’t eat a lot before bed and avoid alcohol or caffeine close to bedtime.
• Exercise and naps should also be reserved for earlier in the day.

#5: Limit Alcohol Consumption

Alcohol, because it can lead to impairments in gait, balance, and cognition, can increase your risk of falling. It is important to limit your alcohol intake, as every 10-g increase in alcohol increases your chances of suffering a fall-related injury by 1.25.

#6: Move Slowly

Take your time when getting up and down and moving around. Rushing can promote falls. Give your body time to adjust to unexpected circumstances, such as a leg that has fallen asleep, a chair that has slid from its normal position, or a dropped item lying in a tricky place to reach.

#7: Use Assistive Devices

Some assistive devices are portable. You take them with you wherever you go to keep yourself upright and stable. These should not be used on stairs or wet surfaces. They include:

• Canes, including tripods and quadrupeds
• Walkers
• Rollators

Assistive devices that can be installed in your home include:

• Non-slip mats for the shower or tub
• Walk-in showers as opposed to tubs, which you must climb into
• Sensor-activated lights
• Reaching aids
• Alarms for emergencies

#8: Stay Hands-Free When Mobile

Keep your hands empty of bags, purses, or any other items so they are free to grasp railings or other things that may help stability. If you regularly carry a handbag, consider switching to one with a shoulder strap, so it can hang freely, leaving your hands free.

#9: Choose the Right Shoes

Choose good shoes that are comfortable and offer stability. The shoes should be sturdy, well-fitted, and flat with non-slip soles. You’ll also want shoes that fasten easily or require no fastening at all, such as velcro, elastic shoelaces, or slip-ons. A wide toe box and good arch support will ensure your feet have the most adequate contact with the ground. Flip-flops, cumbersome slippers, and high heels should be avoided.

#10: Stay Indoors in Bad Weather

Avoid going outdoors in weather that makes the ground slippery or your surroundings difficult to see. If the wind is strong enough, it can also make you unsteady on your feet.

#11: Make an Appointment with Your Doctor

Your healthcare provider can work with you to understand what parts of your routine put you at greater risk for falls. He or she will evaluate the following and determine what changes could be made to keep you safer:

• Current medications, whether prescribed or not: Side effects of some of these or interactions they have with each other may cause dizziness or sleepiness, which can make you more likely to fall.
• Health conditions: Any condition that affects your inner ear, eyes, muscles, bones, or joints can increase your risk of falls.
• Previous falls: Understanding the circumstances of these can help in prevention.

#12: Make Strong Bones a Priority

Strong bones will help you move around more safely and, in the event of a fall, be less likely to become injured. Foods that are rich in calcium, magnesium, and vitamin D are essential for bone health. Try to incorporate these foods into your diet:

• Dairy products
• Fish, such as canned sardines, salmon, or tuna
• Greens, such as collards, kale, okra, and broccoli
• Fruits, such as plantains, prunes, raisins, grapefruit, strawberries, and pineapples
• Vegetables, such as potatoes, tomatoes, and red and green peppers

Certain foods can be detrimental to bone health because they cause the body to lose calcium. These include beans, wheat bran, and excess salt. Some of these contain compounds that interfere with the body’s ability to absorb calcium.

#13: Make Sure Lighting Is Adequate

Have nightlights in your bedroom and along any path you might need to take through your house during the night, such as the path to the bathroom. The bathroom should also have a nightlight.

Stairways, inside and outside, should be well lit to prevent you from stumbling on them in the dark. Walkways leading from your driveway to your front door can be lit with solar-powered lights that charge during the day and illuminate at night.

Keep flashlights with fresh batteries handy in easily accessible places in case your power goes out — for instance, in your nightstand drawer, kitchen drawer, or entryway table.

#14: Have an Alert Device on Hand

Keep a cell phone or another alert device on hand in case a fall occurs. The sooner help comes to you in an emergency, the more likely you will be to avoid complications.

#15: Ask for Help from Family and Friends

If you are prone to falling, it’s important that you have someone coming to see you regularly for well-check visits. If you happen to fall and are unable to call for help, a friend or family member who comes to check on you will be sure to get you the help you need, if not immediately, sooner than otherwise.

Do not hesitate to ask family and friends if you need help with completing a difficult project or obtaining a hard-to-reach item. They will gladly lend a hand to help you avoid endangering yourself.

What Action Should You Take if You Fall?

If you find yourself in the unfortunate circumstance of having fallen, take the following steps to safely recover:

• Stay calm and still. Take a few moments to breathe and regain your bearings after the shock of falling. It’s important not to move until you can evaluate whether you are in any pain and whether movement could worsen an injury.
• Slowly make your way to a sturdy chair. Depending on your fallen position, you might need to roll over onto your side before coming slowly to your hands and knees and crawling to a place where you can sit.
• Carefully pull yourself into the chair. Put your hands on the chair to feel whether it is sturdy, then come to a kneeling position with one knee and the opposite foot on the floor. Gripping the chair, use it to stabilize yourself as you turn to sit in the chair.
• If you are hurt or cannot get up by yourself, call for help. There are a few ways to do this, but you must have some plan established before you fall.
  • Carry a mobile or cordless phone with you when you move from place to place. Call a loved one, caregiver, or 911.
  • Have an emergency response system set up that allows you to push a button on a necklace or bracelet if you need emergency assistance.
  • Arrange a loved one to visit you daily so that you can expect assistance at some point during the day.

Senior Services of America: Senior Communities Where Comfort and Safety Are Top Priorities

Find a senior living community near you and enjoy the assurance of having caregivers at hand when you need them. Our teams are devoted to serving according to high standards of care with integrity, professionalism, and personal attentiveness to each resident’s needs.

We have many kinds of communities, each suited to the life stage of its residents. You can choose from independent living, assisted living, memory care, and respite care neighborhoods. Whichever you choose, you will receive support and encouragement from our highly trained employees to pursue a safe, fulfilling, and enjoyable life.