Healthy aging: falls are the enemy, balance is the weapon
Professional review pending Healthy aging
Falls are the leading cause of injury death and hospitalization for older Canadians, and fall deaths are up 51% since 2017. Balance training, medication reviews, and a safer home cut the risk substantially.
The single biggest threat to independence in later life isn't a disease; it's the floor. Falls are the number one cause of injury-related death, hospitalization, and emergency visits for Canadians 65 and over: 7,621 deaths in 2022 (up 51% in five years), 78,076 hospitalizations, and 20 to 30% of older adults falling each year. The good news is that fall risk is unusually modifiable.
The movement prescription
The Canadian guideline for 65+ is 150 minutes a week of moderate-to-vigorous activity and strength work twice a week, plus activities that specifically challenge balance. The balance clause is the one people skip and the one that matters most for falls. Tai chi, heel-to-toe walking, standing on one foot while the kettle boils: it all counts, and it works best done regularly before balance becomes a problem.
The home audit
- Grab bars in the bathroom and handrails on both sides of stairs.
- Real lighting in hallways, stairs, bedroom, and bathroom, including a night path to the toilet.
- Non-slip mats, clutter-free stairs, everyday items within reach without a step stool.
- In Saskatchewan specifically: treat ice like the hazard it is; most winter falls happen on the first few steps outside the door.
The medication review
Some common medications cause dizziness or drowsiness that leads directly to falls. A regular medication review with your pharmacist, asking specifically about fall risk, is free in Saskatchewan and routinely finds something worth adjusting. Sight and hearing checks, sturdy well-fitting shoes, and not rushing round out the list.
Acting on this in Regina
Free volunteer-led group exercise for older adults, built around strength and balance, runs at Regina community associations and public library branches; ask at your nearest branch or community association for the current schedule. And the medication review that catches fall-risk prescriptions is available from any Saskatchewan pharmacist, free, no appointment needed.
- Drafted
- 2026-07-19 from the cited public sources
- Review
- awaiting a licensed reviewer in the relevant discipline
- Next review due
- 2027-07-19
- Standard
- General education only, never individual medical advice. See our editorial standard.