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10-Minute Balance Exercises to Prevent Falls

10-Minute Balance Exercises to Prevent Falls — video by Hospital for Special Surgery Play · 10:21

Video by Hospital for Special Surgery on YouTube · Open on YouTube

A hospital falls-prevention session with a chair or counter nearby: weight shifts, feet-together and eyes-closed standing, staggered and heel-to-toe stance, single-leg balance, head turns and marching while dual tasking.

  • 10 min
  • Beginner
  • Low impact (no jumping)
  • chair

Good forHealthy ageing

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Step by step 9

Tap a time to watch that step in the video.

  1. Weight shifts: rock left and right, then forward and back, and find even weight across both feet, toes and heels. 0:37
  2. Feet together: stand and hold, hands free if you can, with a chair or counter right beside you. 1:45
  3. Close your eyes and hold your balance, noticing the small adjustments your feet make; then open them. 2:24
  4. Staggered stance, heel to the other foot's instep, for about 10 seconds, then heel-to-toe tandem stance. 3:05
  5. Switch feet: staggered stance, then full tandem stance with the other foot in front, holding on if needed. 4:08
  6. Stand tall on one leg for 10 seconds, holding the chair with a hand or a fingertip as needed; then the other leg. 5:22
  7. Feet together, turn the head left and right about 10 times; see a professional if it makes you dizzy or unsteady. 6:50
  8. Look up and down, then turn to look over each shoulder, keeping your balance. 7:20
  9. Dual tasking: march on the spot while spelling a word backwards or doing simple sums. 8:25

The steps are a summary in our words, checked against the video — the coach shows every move.

Form cues from the coach

  • Keep a chair or counter within reach and hold on whenever you need
  • Find even weight between left and right, toes and heels
  • See a health professional if head turns make you dizzy or unsteady

What it works

Tap an area for more videos that work it.

Joints it uses light on the joints

  • Neck moveshead turns left-right and up-down
  • Hips movesweight shifts, single-leg stance, marching
  • Knees movessoft standing knees, marching
  • Ankles & feet movesfeet-together, tandem and single-leg stances
  • Standing on one leg. Keep a chair or a wall within reach.

Easier option from the coach: Hold a chair or counter throughout; sitting is fine for the standing drills

A guide to the joints this video’s moves load, from what the coach does — not medical advice. Some ache is normal; stop if a joint hurts sharply. How joints are rated

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Video by Hospital for Special Surgery; the summary, steps, cues, body areas and joint notes are Notbroken’s, written from what the coach actually does in the video and checked a second time. Warm up first, take the easier options until a move feels easy, and stop if you feel sharp pain, chest pain or dizziness. General instruction, not advice for your body. About & safety