Senior News Line: Exercising to avoid falls

If your weather is anything like mine right now, the promised end of winter hasn’t happened yet, with storms continuing to roll in every few days right on schedule.

The things that have not gone away yet, however, are COVID, flu and RSV — which means that getting outside on a schedule for exercise isn’t possible, and neither is working out on the machines at the rec center among lots of other people.

Still, getting some kind of exercise is important. They say we need 150 minutes of exercise per week — aerobic and strength training combined — as well as balance exercise. And all of those things can be done at home.

The benefits certainly make it worthwhile: maintain muscle mass, improve our sleep, stay mobile, improve mental health, stay independent and reduce risk of high blood pressure.

And avoid falls. This may well be at the top of the list of reasons to exercise. A bad fall can lead to hospitalization, a need for surgery, loss of independence — all those things we want to avoid.

All it takes is doing a few exercises to build our leg strength, tighten our core and improve our balance.

Here are a few places online to get more information about exercising for seniors:

• Go to the Johns Hopkins website at hopkinsmedicine.org and search for “Balance and Strength Exercises for Older Adults,” which includes two exercise videos that can be done at home.

• Check the Mayo Clinic website at mayoclinic.org. Search for balance exercises.

• Go to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention website at cdc.gov and search for “What Counts as Physical Activity for Older Adults.”

• Click the link to their free publication “Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans” and scroll to Chapter 5, Active Older Adults. The 118-page publication is very well done.

As always, check in with your health-care provider to ask about any new exercise before you start.