Everyone has fallen at one point or another and been able to get right back up. So it may come as a surprise that falls are a growing and significant public health problem because they can cause injuries with long-lasting consequences — anything from knee damage and hip fractures to traumatic brain injury — especially as we get older.
Sound alarmist? Consider this: According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), “Every second of every day an older adult (65+) suffers a fall in the U.S., making falls the leading cause of death and injury in this age group.”
And people with osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis are especially at risk of falls because those conditions often lead to weakening of the muscles that assist with balance and stability, notes sports medicine consultant John Gallucci Jr., DPT, the CEO of JAG Physical Therapy in Bridgewater, New Jersey.
Also, having joint pain from arthritis may cause you to alter your gait to compensate. “The way you change your gait may cause you to lose your balance and fall,” says rheumatologist Sharon Kolasinski, MD, a professor of clinical medicine at the University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine in Philadelphia. The fear of falling by itself can also increase your risk.
Exercises to Strengthen Key Muscles Can Help Prevent Falls
The good news is that several studies, including one review of studies, show that exercises that target balance, gait, and muscle strength help prevent falls in older people. While your personal fall prevention program should be tailored to your condition and your particular needs, one of the following fall prevention exercises is bound to work for you.
Try Tai Chi to Help Improve Your Balance
Tai chi, an ancient Chinese martial art, involves slow, graceful, continuous movements designed to increase balance and flexibility for all people with joint pain, including those with osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis, and psoriatic arthritis. A study involving 670 adults ages 70 and older with a history of falls or impaired mobility found that tai chi reduced falls by 58 percent compared with stretching, and by 31 percent compared with an exercise regimen that included various forms of aerobic, balance, flexibility, and strength training exercises.
Other research that looked at how a 12-week course of tai chi training impacted older women with osteoarthritis concluded it significantly improved the women’s balance and reduced the joint pain and stiffness linked to a higher risk of falls. “There is good evidence that tai chi can be good for fall prevention,” Dr. Kolasinski says. “It comes from the fact that it focuses on balance and strength.”
Try Hitting the Pool to Keep Your Joints Happy
If you have access to a warm-water swimming pool, aquatic exercises are great for people with arthritis because they allow you to strengthen your muscles and improve endurance without stressing your joints and worsening joint pain. As a bonus, there’s no risk of falling while exercising in a pool, as one research review noted. Other benefits of water exercises, Kolasinski notes, are that the heated water feels good to aching joints and, like other aerobic exercises, pool workouts can help you lose weight, which is a medication-free way to manage arthritis if you’re packing extra pounds.
Related: Physical Activity Is Essential for Managing Rheumatoid Arthritis
Try Balance Exercises to Increase Stability and Prevent Falls
Balance exercises include standing on one foot, walking heel to toe, hip extensions, side leg raises, and back leg raises. Balance exercises help with fall prevention because they improve your ability to maintain your upright position whether you’re standing still or moving, essential when you have arthritis. “They ultimately make your joints more stable,” says Gallucci. You don’t need special equipment to do balance exercises for arthritis, and you can do them anywhere. But if your balance is unsteady now be sure to have someone with you to help keep you stable.
Try Walking to Boost Your Overall Health
For older adults with arthritis, walking is one of the best endurance exercises, according to the American College of Rheumatology, for several reasons: Walking is easy to do; requires no special equipment; improves your heart, lung, and muscle functions; and increases your stability. It also helps with weight control, mood, sleep, and general health. And it is low-impact, so it’s gentle on your joints, Gallucci says.
Some people with arthritis are afraid to walk for fear of taking a tumble. “Be reassured, you can walk,” Kolasinski says. Simply start at a slow pace, then gradually increase your distance and speed over time. “But if you’re concerned, walk with a friend or in a supervised setting,” she says. In addition, Arthritis Foundation experts advise you to wear good sneakers that provide support and help with proper body alignment, and they also encourage staying on even surfaces.
Try Weight Training to Build Muscle Strength
With age comes muscle loss, a condition known as sarcopenia, which is a key cause of the frailty that increases the risk of osteoarthritis and falls, according to research.
Lifting weights is an excellent way to maintain and build muscle mass. That idea may seem intimidating, especially if it’s been years since you lifted anything heavy because of joint pain due to a condition like rheumatoid arthritis. Don’t be alarmed: You can start by doing upper-body weight training exercises with something as light as an 8-ounce (oz) soup can in each hand. As you increase your muscle strength, you can increase the can size to 10 oz, then move up to 16 oz when you’re ready.
As part of a fall prevention exercise plan, strength training should also target lower-body muscles around your hip, knee, and ankle joints. One easy way to get started on strengthening your lower body is through chair rise exercises, in which you practice moving from sitting in a chair to standing without using your arms, increasing the number of repetitions as you progress. (Check out this visual guide from the CDC to see how it works.)
Try Yoga Poses to Increase Your Flexibility
Research on women 66 and older done at the Temple University Gait Study Center in Philadelphia found that a nine-week yoga program made them more stable on their feet. Another study out of Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore concluded that eight weeks of yoga reduced swelling and joint tenderness in people with rheumatoid arthritis or knee osteoarthritis. “When you lower your pain, you reduce your risk for falls,” Kolasinski says. Be sure your yoga instructor is aware that you have arthritis and joint pain and can help you adapt yoga poses to your limitations.
Try Stretching to Enhance Your Range of Motion
Sian Yik Lim, MD
Medical Reviewer
Lim has authored several book chapters, including one titled “What is Osteoporosis” in the book Facing Osteoporosis: A Guide for Patients and their Families. He was also an editor for Pharmacological Interventions for Osteoporosis, a textbook involving collaboration from a team of bone experts from Malaysia, Australia, and the United States.
Beth W. Orenstein
Author
Beth W. Orenstein is a freelance writer for HealthDay, Radiology Today, the Living Well section of The American Legion Magazine, St. Luke’s University Health Network, and others. She is a magna cum laude graduate of Tufts University (1978), where she majored in English and was editor of the student newspaper for three years.
No matter the weather around her eastern Pennsylvania home, Orenstein either bikes 25 to 30 miles or walks at least 6 miles every day. Her one indulgence is blueberry pancakes — but only after biking a long distance.