{"id":355510,"date":"2026-03-20T04:13:07","date_gmt":"2026-03-20T04:13:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/355510\/"},"modified":"2026-03-20T04:13:07","modified_gmt":"2026-03-20T04:13:07","slug":"how-to-avoid-falls-as-you-get-older","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/355510\/","title":{"rendered":"How to avoid falls as you get older"},"content":{"rendered":"

Age brings many health concerns, but the fear of falling almost certainly increases with each passing year. Already the most common reason for older adults to be admitted to the hospital, falls are on the rise. Ireland has one of the fastest ageing populations in Europe, and recent statistics from the Irish Longitudinal Study on Ageing (TILDA), published in the journal BMJ Open, revealed how falls are taking their toll on society, with one in eight older people in Ireland requiring medical attention for a fall each year.<\/p>\n

As the most common cause of fractures among older adults, falls are a leading contributor to reduced mobility, loss of independence, and hospital admission \u2014 and the reality is that without intervention, those who fall once are at significantly increased risk of doing so again.<\/p>\n

Dr Ruth McCullagh, a senior lecturer and a physiotherapist based in the School of Clinical Studies at University College Cork, says the impact can be devastating.<\/p>\n

\"RuthRuth McCullagh: \u2018Exercises can be practised at home but you need to be guided by a specially trained professional.\u2019 Picture: Eddie O’Hare<\/p>\n

\u201cIn Ireland, there are an average of 27,000 calls from older people who have fallen each year,\u201d she says. \u201cOf those, about 80% end up going to hospital.\u201d<\/p>\n

Fractures or head injuries are common after a fall.<\/p>\n

\u201cSoft tissue and skin injuries are also a risk the longer people are lying on the floor unattended,\u201d she says, adding that gaps in medical specialists to deal with falls are not helping the long-term prognosis.<\/p>\n

All of this is why McCullagh is spearheading the rollout of the FaME (Falls Management Exercise) programme in Ireland. This 26-week course aims to reduce falls and their impact on health by teaching participants how to get up from the floor independently and by teaching postural stability techniques to prevent falls.<\/p>\n

\u201cQualified practitioners combine strength and balance training with safe floor-rise practice, using soft mats, in a safe environment,\u201d she says. \u201cNot all exercises include balance, which people sometimes assume is the only important factor in fall prevention, as you do need a combination of strength exercises using a resistance band and functional balance work for the outcome to be effective.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"FaMEFaME participant session. Photos by Alex Wilkinson Media<\/p>\n

Currently, the FaME programme, originally the brainchild of Dawn Skelton, a professor of physiotherapy at Glasgow Caledonian University, is available in pockets of Cork, Kerry, Mayo, Sligo, Galway, and Dublin. \u201cWe are trying to scale this up so that it will be available in more areas,\u201d McCullagh says.<\/p>\n

According to the TILDA findings, over half of older adults attending emergency departments after a fall were prescribed medications known to increase falls risk, including drugs affecting balance, alertness, or blood pressure and more than one in five did not have access to a specialist falls assessment clinic.<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s what we need to know about falling as we age:<\/p>\n

Why do we fall when we get older?<\/p>\n

Balance deteriorates as we get older, but many other factors also affect fall risk. A loss of muscle mass, known as sarcopenia, that starts from midlife onwards, can reduce strength, predisposing us to falls. In our younger years, we each have about 70,000 specialised nerve cells \u2014 motor neurones \u2014 in the lower part of the spinal cord that connect with our leg muscles to control balance and movement. By age 75, 40% of these motor neurons have been lost, resulting in lower levels of coordination and balance across all levels of physical fitness.<\/p>\n

Will balance training help?<\/p>\n

Good balance is one aspect of falls prevention training. Standing on one leg as you move around to reach for things or crouch down is a good starting point.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt needs to be functional balance work,\u201d McCullagh says. \u201cSo, when on one leg, you should extend an arm or leg, bend down or crouch on the supporting leg.\u201d<\/p>\n

A 12-year study examining the relationship between balance and mortality in a group of 1,702 people aged between 51 and 75 concluded that an inability to stand unsupported on one leg for 10 seconds was associated with an 84% raised risk of death from any cause.<\/p>\n

Can I do the FaME exercises at home?<\/p>\n

Strength and balance maintenance work can be practised at home, but McCullagh says the FaME programme does need to be guided by a specially trained professional. \u201cThe evidence suggests you can\u2019t really improve your balance on your own if it is very poor to start with,\u201d she says. \u201cYou are much better off going to see someone who can help to train it properly.\u201d<\/p>\n

She suggests speaking to your GP, who can recommend a relevant local exercise class or physiotherapist.<\/p>\n

Are only the elderly at risk of falling?<\/p>\n

We tend to think of the people at risk of falling as old and frail. In fact, falling down is the number one reason for trauma death and trauma injury at any age. \u201cThe risk of falling at any age is about 30%,\u201d says McCullagh. \u201cIf you are in a room full of adults of any age, approximately one third of them will have fallen at some point in the past 12 months.\u201d<\/p>\n

Our balance ebbs and flows and is influenced not just by muscle strength and coordination but by hormones, how tired and stressed you are in any given moment, by what workout you did that morning, even by what you are wearing on your feet.<\/p>\n

Studies by scientists at Manchester Metropolitan University have shown that even the fastest and fittest masters athletes need to work on balance and strength to prevent falls. \u201cIt is the consequences of falls that are more severe as we age,\u201d McCullagh says. \u201cIn our 20s and 30s, we bounce back up, but we don\u2019t in our 60s and 70s.\u201d<\/p>\n

Practice getting up by yourself<\/p>\n

All adults over the age of 50 should practice getting up from the floor every two weeks. \u201cIt\u2019s a learned action, and the more you know you are able to get up, the better your confidence will be if you do experience a bad fall,\u201d says McCullagh. \u201cYou will never fall in exactly the same way, so practice getting up from different positions.\u201d<\/p>\n

What if I do fall?<\/p>\n

Falls can be distressing. \u201cCatch your breath for a few minutes as nothing worse is going to happen in that time,\u201d says McCullagh. \u201cIf you can roll over and get onto all fours, crawl over to something sturdy that can support your weight, such as a coffee table or a sofa.\u201d<\/p>\n

Then turn around so you are aligned with the furniture and bend your strong knee with your stronger foot on the floor. \u201cTry to tuck the foot of your weaker leg underneath the body so that you stand up on the pads of your foot.\u201d Place both hands on the floor and push up to get yourself off the ground.<\/p>\n

Keep your phone about your person<\/p>\n

If you are elderly and fear falling, your mobile phone can be a lifesaver. \u201cKeep it on your person in the house or, if you have an alarm button on your wrist or neck, make sure it is working by testing it every couple of weeks,\u201d McCullagh says. \u201cThe alarm systems are waterproof and robust so keep them on even in the shower.\u201d<\/p>\n

If you are on your own and can\u2019t get up, try banging for help with your fist or a stick on a hard surface. \u201cThe noise can help to draw attention,\u201d McCullagh says.<\/p>\n

Don\u2019t try to lift someone who has fallen<\/p>\n

When we fall, the first thing we try to do is push ourselves up again. \u201cThat hand push from the floor is really important, but if people try to help you by scooping in from underneath your arms, it prevents you from using your hands.\u201d<\/p>\n

Rather than hoiking or lifting someone up, try to guide them off the floor. \u201cIf you try to lift them, you could end up injuring yourself as their bodyweight will be heavy,\u201d McCullagh says.<\/p>\n

\n For more information\n <\/p>\n

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