Exercise for preventing falls in older people living in the community.

Sherrington C, Fairhall NJ, Wallbank GK, Tiedemann A, Michaleff ZA, Howard K, Clemson L, Hopewell S, Lamb SE

The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · January 31, 2019

At least one-third of community-dwelling people over 65 years of age fall each year. Exercises that target balance, gait and muscle strength have been found to prevent falls in these people. We included 108 randomised controlled trials with 23,407 participants living in the community in 25 countries. On average, participants were 76 years old and 77% were women. Exercise reduces the rate of falls by 23% and the number of people experiencing one or more falls by 15% (high-certainty evidence). Balance and functional exercises reduce the rate of falls by 24%. Multiple types of exercise probably reduce the rate of falls by 34%. Tai Chi may reduce the rate of falls by 19%. Exercise programmes reduce the rate of falls and the number of people experiencing falls in older people living in the community.

PMID: 30703272 · DOI: 10.1002/14651858.CD012424.pub2