Falls prevention: what actually works

Falls are the leading cause of injury-related hospitalisation in older Australians, and Casey's over-65 population is growing quickly in absolute terms. Falls prevention is one of the areas where the evidence is clear and the intervention is genuinely effective.

Balance declines, and responds

Single-leg balance and postural control decline measurably from the sixties onward. The important part is that both respond to training at any age — this is not an inevitable decline to be managed but a capacity that can be rebuilt.

What the evidence supports

Programs combining balance challenge and lower-limb strength, performed at least twice weekly and progressed over time, reduce fall rates meaningfully. Walking alone, while excellent for general health, does not challenge balance enough to reduce falls on its own.

The contributors we assess

Ankle mobility and strength, hip strength, single-leg control, and the ability to recover from a stumble. Also vision, footwear, and medications that affect blood pressure or alertness — those last ones are GP territory and we will refer rather than guess.

Fear of falling

Fear itself increases risk, because it reduces activity, which reduces strength and balance further. Breaking that cycle with graded, confident movement matters as much as any exercise. See hip and pelvic pain for hip-related presentations.

Dizziness

Dizziness in older adults has many causes, some of which are cervical and treatable, and some of which need medical assessment. Sudden onset dizziness, dizziness with hearing changes, or dizziness with neurological symptoms needs a doctor rather than us.

Getting assessed

We assess balance routinely in older patients even when it is not the presenting complaint, because it is easier to maintain capacity than to rebuild it after a fall.

How we approach it

The first appointment covers a full history and a movement and orthopaedic assessment, not just the sore area. With occupational and lifestyle-driven pain in particular, the useful part is usually working out which daily loads are maintaining the problem — because treating the tissue weekly while the cause continues unchanged rarely holds. You leave knowing what we found, what is driving it, and roughly how long it should take.

Booking in

RISE Sports & Spinal is at 5/6-8 Langmore Lane, Berwick, serving Berwick, Narre Warren, Cranbourne, Clyde, Pakenham, Officer, Beaconsfield and the wider Casey area. Same-week appointments most weeks, initial consult 60 minutes at $149, HICAPS on site. No referral needed.

Book an initial consultation at RISE Sports & Spinal in Berwick. Clear diagnosis, hands-on treatment, and a plan that actually gets you better.