HHS HealthBeat (February 16, 2007)

Finding a balance

From the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, I'm Ira Dreyfuss with HHS HealthBeat.

Falls can break bones, so older people especially need to keep their balance.

Exercise programs help them work on balance. The question is what works best. Tai chi, a Chinese form of exercise that relies on slow movement, is one common program. But falls happen fast. So researcher Neil Alexander of the University of Michigan Health System looked at a program that taught seniors to step fast and wide, as they would if they were falling.

Alexander found a bit of an improvement over tai chi:

"The combined balance and stepping training program would best benefit older adults with at least mild balance impairment but not very severe balance impairment." (9 seconds)

Alexander's study, in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, was supported by the National Institutes of Health.

Learn more at www.hhs.gov.

HHS HealthBeat is a production of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. I'm Ira Dreyfuss.

Last revised: February, 16 2007