In the United States approximately 28% of adults over the age 65 report falling each year. While not all falls result in an injury, about 37% require medical treatment. These may include head injuries and fractures, which can lead to pain, functional loss, disrupt ability to care for oneself and loss of independence. In this video I review 3 important risk factors for falling and I review 3 important components of an exercise program that can help prevent falls.

With aging there is often an associated decline in physical ability. This may be experienced as difficulty walking a few blocks, climbing stairs, or carrying groceries. This decline may progress from difficulty to complete inability to perform one or more of these activities, which can ultimately result in loss of independence. Strong evidence demonstrates that physical activity and exercise improves physical function and reduces the risk of age-related physical decline in the general aging population.

I review 5 common risk factors that increase the odds of an older person developing a physical limitation.

Maintaining physical function is a hallmark for quality of life. However, as people age, they often develop physical limitations and disabilities. These may be secondary to de-conditioning from a sedentary lifestyle or may be secondary to a more insidious underlying health condition. For these reasons, poor or declining physical ability is associated with an increased risk of mortality (death). In this video, I review the extent of this risk and how exercise can help.