Most falls among elderly due to incorrect weight-shifting

A study in British Columbia involved “strategically placed video cameras in long-term care facilities” that recorded falls among the elderly residents. Based on an analysis of recordings of 227 falls involving 130 individuals the researchers found that 70 per cent occurred “during a failed attempt at performing daily activities ,,, due to incorrect weight shifting” e.g. when turning, reaching or changing to standing from sitting. This involves the person leaning too far past their centre of gravity and losing the base of support between the feet and the ground. Editor: It this holds up, future prevention efforts can focus on ways to improve weight shifting. It is possible that the apparent success of Tai Chi may be based on this weight shifting finding. It seems to make sense and corresponds to my personal experience. This is one link to the original study, the lead investigator was Steven Robinovitch who often assisted this Journal.http://www.canada.com/health/Videotaping+shows+most+falls+among+elderly+incorrect+weightshifting/7399779/story.html