Home › Falls & balance › Balance

Balance: simple exercises to feel steadier on your feet

Balance naturally changes with age — but it can improve at any age with the right practice. Exercise that challenges balance is one of the best-proven ways to prevent falls. This guide explains why, and gives you safe exercises to start at home.

Written by Abhiraj Radhakrishnan, PT, MPT · 11-minute read

 

Why balance changes

Staying upright depends on many systems working together: strong legs and ankles, sensation in your feet, your inner ear, your eyesight, and your brain’s ability to react quickly. With age — and with conditions like arthritis, diabetes, stroke or Parkinson’s disease — these can weaken. Some medications, dizziness, and simply being less active can make it worse.

The good news: balance is a skill. Like any skill, it gets better with regular practice.

Light-headedness on standing is often caused by orthostatic hypotension — a drop in blood pressure when you stand. It affects roughly 1 in 5 older adults living at home, and more in long-term care, and it is linked to falls. It can be checked by measuring blood pressure lying down and then standing.

Signs your balance may be slipping

• Feeling unsteady when walking, especially when turning or on uneven ground
• Reaching for furniture, walls or another person for support
• Feeling much less steady in the dark or with your eyes closed — for example, when washing your hair in the shower
• A fear of falling that doesn’t go away, or avoiding activities because of it
• Shuffling, slower walking, or needing to stop to turn

What the research shows

A large Cochrane review of 108 trials with more than 23,000 older adults living in the community found that:

• Exercise programs reduced the rate of falls by about 23%.
• Programs focused on balance and functional exercises (like standing up from a chair and stepping) reduced falls by about 24% — with high-certainty evidence.
• Programs that combined balance, functional and strength exercises reduced falls by about 34%.
• Tai chi also reduced falls (by about 19%).

The World Falls Guidelines recommend balance and functional exercise three or more times a week, at enough intensity and for long enough to make a difference — and done in a way that is safe for each person.

How hard and how much matters. A large review found that programs which truly challenged balance and added up to more than 3 hours a week (over time) gave the biggest reductions in falls — about 39%. Exercise also helps people with Parkinson’s disease: a Cochrane review found it reduces the rate of falls by about a quarter.

Newer approach: perturbation training. This trains the body to react to an unexpected slip or trip — for example, a physiotherapist giving controlled nudges, or using a special treadmill or walkway. Reviews suggest it reduces falls in older adults, though the evidence is still growing. It must be done with trained supervision — please don’t try to recreate it at home.

Before you start: staying safe

Talk to your doctor or a physiotherapist first if you have fallen recently, feel dizzy, have heart or lung problems, have had recent surgery, or are unsure whether these exercises are right for you.

• Do the exercises at a sturdy kitchen counter you can hold on to, with a chair right behind you.
• Wear supportive shoes, or go barefoot on a non-slip floor — not socks or loose slippers.
• If you feel unsteady, have someone stand nearby the first few times.
• Stop and rest if you feel dizzy, short of breath or have chest pain. Seek medical help if it doesn’t settle.
• Exercises should feel challenging but safe. Don’t close your eyes during balance exercises unless a physiotherapist has shown you how.

8 balance exercises to start at home

Start with the easier exercises, holding the counter with both hands. Move slowly and stand tall.

[PHOTO: older adult doing a balance exercise at a kitchen counter, chair behind]

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

How often, and how to progress

	What to aim for
How often	At least 3 days a week — most days is even better
How long	Start with 10 to 15 minutes; build up over the weeks
How hard	Challenging, but you should always feel in control
How to progress	Less hand support → hold longer → move on to harder exercises
How long until it helps	Keep going for months, not weeks — benefits fade if you stop

Canada’s movement guidelines for adults 65 and older also recommend muscle-strengthening activities at least twice a week, physical activities that challenge balance, about 150 minutes a week of moderate activity like brisk walking, and breaking up long periods of sitting.

Other ways to build balance

• Tai chi — slow, flowing movements; shown in research to reduce falls.
• Group falls-prevention or balance classes — ask your local community centre, seniors’ centre or family health team.
• Everyday practice — stand on one leg while holding the counter as you wait for the kettle, or do sit-to-stands during TV ads.

When to get help

• You’ve had a fall, or several near-falls
• You feel dizzy or light-headed when you stand up
• The beginner exercises feel too hard or unsafe
• Balance has suddenly got worse — this needs a doctor’s check
• You have a condition that affects balance, such as Parkinson’s disease, stroke, numbness in the feet (neuropathy) or an inner-ear problem
• Your fear of falling is stopping you from doing things

A physiotherapist can test your balance, find what’s causing the problem, and build a program that’s right for you. If you have sudden new weakness, numbness, trouble speaking or severe dizziness, call 911.

Sources
Sherrington C, et al. Exercise for preventing falls in older people living in the community — Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, 2019
Montero-Odasso M, et al. World guidelines for falls prevention and management for older adults — Age and Ageing, 2022
Canadian 24-Hour Movement Guidelines for Adults aged 65 years and older — CSEP
Sherrington C, et al. Exercise to prevent falls in older adults: an updated systematic review and meta-analysis — British Journal of Sports Medicine, 2017
Mansfield A, et al. Does perturbation-based balance training prevent falls? Systematic review and meta-analysis — Physical Therapy, 2015
Perturbation-based balance training reduces falls and fall injuries in older people: systematic review and meta-analysis — medRxiv preprint, 2025
Saedon NI, et al. The prevalence of orthostatic hypotension: a systematic review and meta-analysis — Journals of Gerontology A, 2020
Allen NE, et al. Interventions for preventing falls in Parkinson’s disease — Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, 2022

This guide is general information, not a personal exercise prescription. Check with your doctor or a physiotherapist before starting a new exercise program, especially if you have fallen or have health conditions.