April has marked the month for 'April Falls', bringing awareness and mindfulness to our older adults and the importance of falls prevention.

A lot of falls are preventable and as one of the Community Strength and Balance Coordinators at Sport Northland, I, Ann-Marie Lambly, want to highlight one of the best things older adults can do to stay independent and living well.

So why strength and balance?  By doing exercises that strengthen your legs and core muscles, this will keep your bones strong and help you stay steadier on your feet. Regular balance training greatly decreases your chance of injury and helps you stay confident so you can get out and about doing things you enjoy.

There are many ways you can incorporate strength and balance exercises into your weekly activity. Either at home using online resources or by attending an approved Community Strength and Balance (CSB) class provider in your community.  These classes are recognised as having the tick of approval, which indicates that the exercises they are doing meets the evidence-based criteria to help reduce falls and fractures in older adults.

The main goal of the CSB classes is to help older adults improve their balance and leg strength, which are key factors for preventing falls. The classes aren’t just physical activity sessions, but structured exercises that match the goal of improving balance and leg strength. There are other aspects of fitness such as cardiovascular endurance, upper body strength, or flexibility incorporated in a class which are also good for you, but they aren’t the main objective of a class.

We recently carried out a survey with participants involved in an approved class to see the effectiveness of the classes. We surveyed 116 participants from eight different classes (1 in Dargaville, 1 in Far North, 6 in Central Whangarei and 2 South of Whangarei). Using a scale rating from 0 – 10 (0 lowest – 10 highest), we asked participants

• if the class has helped them to improve their strength, balance and;
• if the class has helped to make them feel more confident to be active.

79% of the participants found the class definitely helped improve their balance, with 84% saying their strength has improved and 86% were more confident to be active due to the benefits they received from attending their class.

Participants were also asked how likely they are to recommend a class to family members or friends, with 92% overwhelmingly saying they would highly recommend their class.

So, on that note, I highly recommend you check out the Live Stronger For Longer website here and find an approved class provider near you.

Article written by Ann-Marie Lambly, Community Strength and Balance Coordinator