Falls are a common concern for older adults, with one in four seniors over 65 experiencing a fall each year, according to the National Institute on Aging (NIA). The good news is that many falls can be prevented with a proactive approach to safety. Some key fall prevention tips for seniors include checking your loved one’s home for fall hazards, encouraging them to stay active, wearing the proper shoes, reviewing risks with their doctor, and getting additional support when necessary.
1. Stay Active
One of the best ways to prevent falls in the elderly is through regular exercise. Walking, Tai Chi, yoga, and water exercises can lead to increased mobility, flexibility, strength, and balance, according to the NIA. Exercise may seem difficult for seniors who haven’t been very active recently, but most exercises can be modified. For example, many seniors participate in chair yoga.
Some seniors worry about falling while exercising. If this applies to your loved one, it’s important to encourage them to start with very simple exercises and have someone nearby who can help them, according to fall prevention exercises recommended by a physical therapist at John Hopkins Medicine. For example, your loved one might start by balancing on both feet without holding onto anything before working up to balancing on one foot.
If your loved one uses a cane or walker, encourage them to continue to use them while exercising. They can still get the benefits of walking and other balance exercise while staying safe.
2. Wear Supportive Shoes
Well-fitting shoes are a great fall preventive measure for seniors, especially during physical activity. The best shoes for elderly to prevent falls prioritize comfort and support. Here are some key details to keep in minding when considering footwear for fall prevention based on a recent research:
- A closed design. Shoes that cover the whole foot provide more support and a reliable fit. Avoid open-toed sandals and backless slippers since they can become loose or fall off.
- A comfortable fit. Make sure your loved one has adequate room in their shoes, especially if their feet swell sometimes.
- Adequate ankle support. Shoes that come up higher on the ankle, such as a short boot, can help seniors keep their balance. On shoes, this is referred to as the collar height.
- Comfortable soles and insoles. Ideally, the bottom of a shoe should absorb any impact to make walking comfortable without being too stiff. Consider custom insoles to maximize comfort.
- Slip resistance. Look for shoes with a lot of tread on the soles or ones that are marketed as slip-resistant footwear. It’s also important to check the soles after being worn for a while to make sure the tread hasn’t worn away.
3. Keep a Safe Home Environment
Home safety is increasingly important to prevent falls as seniors age. The NIA recommends going room by room through the home to be as thorough as possible.
Minimize Fall and Slip Hazards
Look for any tripping or fall risks on your loved one’s floors, such as:
- Area rugs or door mats that cause an uneven walking surface
- Cords
- Lack of stair rails
- Loose tiles or floorboards
- Uneven or slippery walking surfaces
If your senior loved one prefers to wear slippers or socks in their home, you can also purchase non-slip socks or slippers to help prevent falls.
Improve Lighting
Dim light can make it harder for seniors to navigate their home. To prevent falls in the elderly, you can add light by putting in a lamp or nightlight. Many plug-in nightlights are motion activated, making them an unobtrusive way to help your loved one if they need to get up at night. A popular choice these days is to add wireless, motion-activated lights on a senior’s path to the bathroom, helping to prevent falls during the night.
Outdoor lighting is also an important safety consideration. Consider adding solar-powered lights along the walkway and make sure there’s plenty of light outside their front door and garage.
Add Bathroom Safety Modifications
Wet surfaces make bathrooms one of the riskiest rooms for falls. Make sure your loved one has a nonslip bathtub mat in their shower or tub, as well as grippy bathmats or carpet to avoid slippery flooring.
For bathing, you may need to consider home modifications, like adding grab bars by the toilet and bathtub or adding a shower chair.
4. Consult A Doctor
Several health factors can affect a senior’s balance, so it’s a good idea to go over your loved one’s health history with their doctor. Their prescriptions or supplements could have side effects or interactions that cause dizziness or lightheadedness.
Some health conditions can also make some seniors more prone to falls. Diabetes, heart conditions, and any disorder that affects the nerves, feet, or blood vessels can all affect balance, according to fall causes outlined by the NIA.
5. Use Elderly Fall Prevention Devices
Canes and walkers are some of the most common assistive devices you may think of for elderly fall prevention, but there are several to consider.
Reaching Devices
Bending over to pick up something on the floor can easily cause a senior to lose their balance. Reaching devices consist of a pole and pincers that can be activated by squeezing the handle.
Bedside Rails
Adding a rail on the side of the bed can help seniors get in and out of bed safely. Beside rails are especially helpful for beds that are lower to the ground or for seniors who are dizzier when first sitting or standing up in the morning.
Gait Belts
Gait belts are a great tool for seniors who have a home caregiver or live in an assisted living community. These belts have loops that caregivers can hold onto while they accompany a senior on a walk or transition them from sitting to standing.
Monitors and Alarms
Seniors can call for help after a fall by pressing a button on a wearable medical alert device. Some of these devices, such as smart watches, can call for help automatically if it detects a fall. These devices don’t focus on prevention, but they can help a senior get help fast.
Fall Mats
If your loved one has a history of falling while getting out of bed, a fall mat can reduce the risk of injury. It won’t prevent the actual fall from happening but can help reduce the impact and decrease the likelihood of serious injury.
6. Ask for Help
Fall proofing a home or making lifestyle changes can be difficult to do on your own, so it’s important to build a support team. Ask your loved ones for help if you’re the one who needs it or offer a lending hand to your senior loved one. An extra set of eyes can go a long way when it comes to spotting hazards in the home. Family members can also help with any larger home modifications.
As you support your loved one in reducing their fall risk, you may come to realize they need more help than you initially thought and they may benefit from additional care. If your loved one has fallen before, it may be time for caregiver support from in-home care or assisted living.
Turn to Assisted Living for Additional Support
In an assisted living community, caregivers are available to offer seniors the support they need, when they need it. At many communities, including Sunrise, seniors receive a care assessment before they move in. This helps ensure that each senior receives personalized care based on their needs.
Programming Helps Improve Resident Mobility at Sunrise
To help improve mobility and balance in our residents, most of our Sunrise Senior Living communities offer a fitness program called SilverSneakers. This program offers classes that are specifically designed to improve seniors’ stamina, strength, flexibility, and balance to support their well-being and reduce the risk of falls.
Fall risk research shows that intermittent participation in SilverSneakers reduces the risk of falls resulting in medical care. In fact, only 14% of seniors who are Medicare Advantage beneficiaries and participated in SilverSneakers reported falls in 2024—8% less than those who didn’t participate, according to a fall preventions study.
Intentional Design Helps Reduce Fall Risk at Sunrise
Sunrise communities are also intentionally designed to prevent falls. Our Sunrise design team is skilled at selecting the right products to create a beautiful aesthetic that prioritizes the well-being of our residents.
To help decrease the risk of falls, our design team avoids using high contrast or bold geometric patterns that can be disorienting within our communities—especially for individuals with memory or vision impairment. They also do their best to prioritize proper lighting and avoid carpeting that’s too thick or hard surface flooring that’s slippery.
If you want to know more about how our communities prioritize fall prevention, you can reach out to a Sunrise near you. We’re more than happy to answer any questions you have.
References
[1] National Institute on Aging. National Institutes of Health. (2022, September 12). Falls and fractures in older adults: Causes and prevention.
[2] John Hopkins Medicine. (2024, June 20). Fall prevention: Balance and strength exercise for older adults.
[3] Kim, I.-J., & Hegazy, F. (2024). Enhancing footwear safety for fall prevention in older adults: A comprehensive review of design features. Annals of Geriatric Medicine and Research.
[4] National Institute on Aging. National Institutes of Health. (2022, September 12). Preventing falls at home: Room by room.
[5] Greenwood-Hickman, M. A., Rosenberg, D. E., Phelan, E. A., & Fitzpatrick, A. L. (2015, June 11). Participation in older adult physical activity programs and risk for falls requiring medical care, Washington State, 2005-2011. Preventing Chronic Disease.
[6] Tivity Health, Inc. (2024, September 10). Tivity Health reports fewer falls, higher rates of exercise for Medicare Advantage members.
This blog was expertly reviewed by Nicole Bergquist, Senior Design Director, and Irene Borgen, Vice President of Innovation and Clinical Partnerships at Sunrise Senior Living to help ensure accuracy and relevance.