How people get it: Free at home, or in classes and with physical therapists.
The basics
What it is
Tai chi is described as a gentle exercise with slow and graceful movements.
Source: Mayo Clinic: Fall prevention: Simple tips to prevent falls - Mayo Clinic ↗
How it's thought to help
Activities like strength training, walking, water workouts and tai chi are said to lower fall risk by improving strength, balance, coordination and flexibility. Regular exercise is said to make muscles stronger.
Sources: Mayo Clinic: Fall prevention: Simple tips to prevent falls - Mayo Clinic ↗ · National Institute on Aging: Falls and Fractures in Older Adults: Causes and Prevention ↗
What people use it for
A physical therapist can make a custom exercise program to improve balance, flexibility and muscle strength.
Source: Mayo Clinic: Fall prevention: Simple tips to prevent falls - Mayo Clinic ↗
What the research has found so far
The NIA page says past studies have shown that many falls in older adults can be prevented.
Source: National Institute on Aging: Approach to prevent fall injuries no better than usual care ↗
On balance training and preventing falls and aging, PubMed lists 2,400 trials in people, 3,443 studies that watched people over time, 2 animal and lab studies. See the counts and searches
Stage 4 because it is recommended by the US Preventive Services Task Force (exercise to prevent falls in adults 65 or older at increased risk). See the source ↗
A stage shows how far research has got, not whether it will work for you. How stages work
Side effects and risks
Some medicines can raise the chance of falling because they cause side effects such as dizziness or confusion.
Source: National Institute on Aging: Falls and Fractures in Older Adults: Causes and Prevention ↗
Who should be careful
Mayo Clinic suggests checking with a healthcare professional before starting activities such as strength training, walking, water workouts or tai chi.
Source: Mayo Clinic: Fall prevention: Simple tips to prevent falls - Mayo Clinic ↗
Questions to ask your doctor
- Is balance training and preventing falls a good fit for me, given my health and the medicines I take?
- Is there anything I should avoid or watch for, given my health conditions?
- Where should I start, and how much is right for me?
- How would we tell whether it is helping, and when should we review it?
This is general information gathered from the sources listed, not medical advice. Talk to your doctor before starting anything new.
What experts say
No expert views collected yet. Each one we add names the person and links to where they said it.
What others are writing
Recent articles about Balance training and preventing falls from health journalists, hospitals and universities. We link to them; we don't write or endorse them.
Fall prevention: Strategies to help keep you from falling down ↗
“Target area #2: Balance When you are not steady on your feet, your risk of a fall increases. Besides core muscle strength, foot and ankle mobility are another important factor in achieving better balance.”
Balance is a key factor in fall prevention, and exercises such as yoga, tai chi, and balance training can improve it.
Recent research
Village doctor fall prevention program for older adults in rural China
This trial tested a fall program run by village doctors in rural Chongqing.
Testing an exercise and pain education program for falls in older adults with long-term pain
This is a planned small trial, not yet recruiting, so no results exist.
Exercise may lower frailty scores in older adults, mainly resistance training
Ten studies pooled together suggest exercise lowered frailty scores, with the clearest link for resistance exercise.
Software prompts for exercise may cut falls in older primary care patients
A large trial found fewer falls and fall injuries among older patients whose clinics used the prompts.
Trials
ClinicalTrials.gov lists 976 registered trials that mention Balance training and preventing falls, for any condition (the count in The science below). Here we show the ones about aging. See them all ↗
Find Balance training and preventing falls trials near you →
The science
Counted from PubMed and ClinicalTrials.gov on Oct 30, 2026, using one search for Balance training and preventing falls in relation to aging. Each link opens the exact search.
- Randomized trials in people
- 2,082 search ↗
- Large trials (multicenter or phase 3)
- 240 search ↗
- Phase 3 trials
- 5 search ↗
- Trials in people
- 2,400 search ↗
- Studies that watched people over time
- 3,443 search ↗
- Animal and lab studies
- 2 search ↗
- Registered trials
- 976 search ↗
PubMed search used
("balance training"[tiab] OR "fall prevention"[tiab] OR "falls prevention"[tiab] OR "tai chi"[tiab] OR "Otago exercise"[tiab] OR "Accidental Falls/prevention and control"[mh]) AND (aging[tiab] OR ageing[tiab] OR longevity[tiab] OR healthspan[tiab] OR "older adults"[tiab] OR "older people"[tiab] OR elderly[tiab] OR "Aged"[mh])
Counts are search results, so they include some records that only mention Balance training and preventing falls. How we count
Cite or share this page
Longevity Progress. (n.d.). Balance training and preventing falls: Research stage and evidence. Retrieved October 30, 2026, from https://longevityprogress.com/treatments/balance-and-falls
<iframe src="https://longevityprogress.com/embed/stage/balance-and-falls" title="Balance training and preventing falls: research stage on Longevity Progress" width="340" height="72" style="border:0" loading="lazy"></iframe>
The badge shows this treatment's current research stage and links back here. It updates by itself when the stage changes.