Many organizations and senior centers offer exercise classes that can help keep people steadier on their feet. The Arthritis Foundation, with chapters around the country, offers a variety of classes, and they're not only for those with arthritis.
Classes are an hour long, can be done sitting down or standing, and have a changing repertoire of 72 approved exercises, says Kathy Schmidt, a teacher trainer with the Arthritis Foundation. The classes include joint warm-up exercises, endurance, balancing, and bone-strengthening exercises, like walking or marching in place. And if someone can't do an exercise, instructors are quick to come up with an option. "If a participant can't put her hands on her head for an exercise, we might have her do shoulder rotations as one alternative," says Schmidt.
Another offering by the Arthritis Foundation and other community programs is tai chi, an ancient Chinese martial art that's gentle, fluid, slow-moving, and backed by research that shows it can help prevent falling. Several studies have shown that tai chi improves balance and reduces the risk and the fear of falling among older adults. In one study, 123 people between the ages of 70 and 92 who took tai chi three times a week for six months had a 55 percent lower risk of falling than a comparable group who didn't take classes.
