Best Senior Fall Prevention Exercise : Tai Chi

CDC recommends Tai Chi Moving for Better Balance as senior fall prevention exercise in it’s Compendium of What Works; Home Study Materials Available Here.

Summary of the Updated American Geriatrics Society/British Geriatrics Society Clinical Practice Guideline for Prevention of  Falls in Older Persons:   Exercise recommendations in the 2010 guidelines specify programs that include balance, gait, and strength training, such as tai chi or physical therapy, in group programs or as individual programs at home.  “The sustained benefits of Tai Chi justify advocating long-term practice.  With this accumulated evidence, the time is near for Tai Chi to be recommended as a best senior fall prevention exercise, and  balance training and to be routinely prescribed for older patients at risk for falling after appropriate screening.” Physical Therapists need to embrace this method for falls prevention.

Tai Chi and Fall Reductions in Older Adults: A Randomized Controlled Trial.  the risk for multiple falls in the Tai Chi group was 55% lower than that of the stretching control group