Better Balance, Fewer Falls in 2025!
- Baxter Bell, MD
- Aug 6
- 3 min read
I was recently at a music retreat with about 120 other adults between the ages of 15-85. At meal times, the conversation often drifted towards discussion of health concerns, especially with the campers over the age of 50. From cancer treatments to back pain flares, there seemed an endless flow of issues people or their family members were contending with. Perhaps the most common topic that came up was the observation of diminishing ability to balance well with advancing age, and the increasing trips and falls that accompanied this change. Not surprisingly, there was also the acknowledgement of fear of falling once a trip or fall occurred.
Add to that the trip and fall of one of the more robust 68-year-old campers on the last morning of our gathering (fortunately, he fell well!), and I couldn’t help but wonder how yoga might impact this issue of worsening balance, increasing falls and fear of falling in my fellow musicians.
These observations by my fellow campers have been confirmed in research on balance. Past research has demonstrated that as we age, our balance ability slowly worsens and our chances of falling increase over time.
For example, for adults over the age of 65, you have a 25% chance of falling this coming year.
This jumps up to 50% if you are over 85
And falling once doubles your chances of falling again
1 in 5 falls causes serious injury such as a broken bone or head injury
The good news is that proactive practices can reduce your chance of falling, improve your balance and potentially improve your lifespan! Past research demonstrates that targeted balance practices reduce falls and improve balance. And, a 2022 study (not a yoga study, FYI) demonstrated that the inability to balance on one foot for at least 10 seconds had a significant negative affect on longevity, doubling the mortality rate over a 10-year period. The implication is that being able to balance for at least 10 seconds on one foot lowers your mortality rate.
What do we know about yoga’s impact on balance, falling and fear of falling? A 2022 study looked as some of these issues in 500 older adults using a chair-based yoga practice once a week for 4 weeks. Poses were done sitting or standing next to the chair in the study group. The results were encouraging, and the authors concluded that “The four-week yoga-based intervention had positive effects on the static, dynamic and total balance scores, body composition and social status.” In the men in the study, the yoga improved happiness and calmness, and in the women in the study, there was a reported reduction in fatigue, nervousness and depression.
Another more recent study reviewed all recent studies on balance, fall risk, fear of falling and bone metabolism, including 18 studies that met their inclusion criteria. After evaluating all the included studies, they concluded: “In healthy adults, low certainty evidence shows that yoga has a beneficial effect on balance.” The italics are mine, and this phrase indicates that we need more robust future research to confirm these findings. The results for yoga’s impact on bone density were mixed, so no strong conclusions on this aspect of balance could be made at this time.
For me, the take-away from all the research to date and my experience with students is that yoga is a safe, accessible practice that can have positive impacts on balance, reducing the risk of falls and addressing the fear of falling, too. It is one reason I always include a balance pose in all my weekly classes.
If this issue is on your personal list of health concerns, perhaps now is the time to make a yoga class or home practice part of your wellness routines. Make sure to check my workshops page for dedicated upcoming events on this topic!
Resources: