Falls in the elderly: physical exercise limits the damage

The more the years pass, the more the consequences of certain accidents, whose falls, have a significant impact on our health. Small blunders are more frequent and injuries take longer to heal. The beneficial effect of physical exercise in this context has already been proven, but its impact on the occurrence of serious injuries was taken into account for the first time by a team of researchers from the Institute of Health and Medical Research (Inserm), directed by Patricia Dargent. According to French scientists, certain physical exercise programs would prevent fractures, which require medical care and often lead to a loss of autonomy in the elderly.

To achieve these results, published by the journal British medical journal, the researchers organized 17 trials worldwide for a total of 2,195 exercise volunteers and a control group of 2,110 non-exercisers. The study participants, who were on average 76 years old and 77% of whom were women, followed separate programs. Of these, two involved doing Tai-Chi, while the others were balance and muscle-strengthening exercises. “The results of the meta-analysis suggest that this type of program can significantly reduce the rate of falls resulting in serious trauma, fracture and/or requiring medical care”, observes Inserm.

Improving protective reflexes, such as stretching your arms out in front of you during the fall, and practicing targeted and regular physical activity would therefore be the key to limiting fractures and other serious injuries in the elderly.