Rethinking the Role of Balance Exercises and Fall Prevention

Why I’m Questioning Balance Exercises

July 31st. A date etched in my memory because I fell that day.

Nothing broke, but if you saw my bruises, you’d wonder who I picked a fight with. (Spoiler: the concrete won.)

Coupled with my fall from the “hit from behind by cyclist” last year, these experiences got me wondering, how many falls are actually unavoidable?

As I think differently about falling and fall prevention, perhaps, it might be more productive to look at improved recovery to enable staying active. (By the way, this thinking applies to kids and falling as well!)

Rethinking the Value of Balance Exercises

I had already been doing dynamic balance training—practicing off-balance reactions and working on strength for deceleration. I also trained in multiple directions because falls often happen when turning to the side. These drills did help me catch myself a few times on trails. BUT …

When my brand-new, super-grippy trail running shoes snagged on a sidewalk gap, none of these exercises saved me. My body sensed the loss of balance, and —bam — I hit the ground. It was sooo fast!

And I’m not alone. Many clients have since shared their own “unpreventable” fall stories:

• A handrail broke.
• Someone was literally knocked over while carrying something.
• An ankle buckled while mid-turn.
• A sudden medical event (like fainting).

Balance training has value — but many falls in an active population DO NOT fit the “train harder” narrative. Balance training doesn’t eliminate falling, or help you recover more quickly afterward if you have fallen.

A Better Focus: Resetting, Not Just Training

Falling incidents DO happen. How we recover and move forward is the real story.

Instead of more balance drills, we should be asking:

• How do we reset the muscle functions that were disrupted?
• How do we reset the balance responses that went offline?
• How do we reset the confidence lost after a fall?

That’s what I’ve been working on for 20+ years. The Bridging® Technique uses physics and foundational movement patterns to restore the ways our muscles work together.

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My Recovery in Real Time

Recovery happens in phases:

Phase 1 Center & Calm – calming the nervous system and restoring sleep so healing can begin.

Phase 2 Reset Function – resetting disrupted coordination, usually 2+ weeks after the injury.

Phase 3 Reset Reactions – testing and reprogramming responses once strength has returned.

It is now over five weeks since I fell and here’s how Bridging helped me recover: (The photos are from the day it happened. You really don’t want to see photos of the next few days. It got much worse before it got better.)

Same day: My head was knocked off-center and, although not a concussion, it was impacting my mental clarity. My colleague used light support for my neck muscles. This allowed my head to re-center, and along with it, my sensory systems re-centered. This immediately restored my mental clarity.

A few days later: My knee had apparently twisted because the swelling was on the back, not on the front with the bruising from impact. The twisted impact kinked the circulatory ‘hoses’ behind my knee. A series of leg muscle resets and a core muscle re-centering reduced swelling immediately. This let me stay active which helps overall healing.

A few weeks later: Now that my body was mostly healed, my muscles needed fine-tuning. The impacts to my knees, hip, hand, and shoulder all had some resetting to do. After this series of resets I was back at the gym, and back to running on the trail.

Still needed: There is one more step needed for the best recovery. That is testing my balance reactions and resetting any asymmetries or glitches. This will leave me best prepared to react to any small balance challenges as I go about my day.

How Will You Bounce Back After a Fall?

Whether your fall happened last week or years ago, the lingering effects don’t resolve on their own. But they can be reset.

👉 If you’ve had a fall and still feel off-balance, stiff, or anxious about moving, schedule a Bridging session. Let’s help your body recover fully so you can stay confident and active.