Stay Strong, Stay Steady

To help prevent falls, build your muscles. Our Health Writer, Colleen Shannon, reports.

- Colleen Shannon

AT this time of the year, darker days and slippery pavements might make you feel more cautious about the risk of having a fall. While your instinct might be to settle down in a comfy chair for the winter and wait it out, the best way to protect yourself is to stay active every day.

Strong muscles help you stay steady on your feet, which is one reason why the NHS recommends two sessions of muscle-building activity every week.

However, a survey by the Chartered Society of Physiotherapy (CSP) shows that nearly one in four people aged over sixty-five, and about one in three people aged between fifty-five and sixty-four, do no strengthening exercises at all.

People in the survey did not know what exercises to do, felt that a health condition held them back, or simply didn’t want to do it.