Fear of falling: a review highlights exercise and combined approaches
A review of reviews identified promising approaches for older adults, but its abstract does not provide comparative effect sizes or establish how long benefits last.
Based on the published abstract. The full paper may contain additional methods, results and limitations.
The 30-second takeaway
The review highlighted Tai Chi, yoga and Pilates, along with approaches combining physical and cognitive elements, as promising ways to reduce fear of falling in older adults. The abstract does not provide the numerical comparisons behind its ranking. Its focus was fear of falling, so these conclusions should not be read as evidence of fewer falls.
The abstract gives no effect sizes, confidence intervals, assessment scales or follow-up lengths. The authors call for longitudinal research, leaving the size and durability of any benefit uncertain.
What the review covered
The researchers brought together systematic reviews and meta-analyses of interventions aimed at fear of falling. Approaches included physical or functional therapy, cognitive behavioral therapy, combined strategies, broader preventive programs and technology-based interventions.
Fear and falls are different outcomes
An intervention can be evaluated for how people feel about falling without establishing its effect on actual falls. The abstract centers on fear and does not report fall counts or injuries as results.
The original publication
Actions to control the fear of falling in older people: An umbrella review.
Oliveira ARC, Magueja CMP, Gonçalves de Almeida AM
Arch Gerontol Geriatr · 2026
- PubMed ID
- 41289647
- Record checked
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