Briefly explained: On 13 October 2024, I had the opportunity to deliver a three-hour fall prevention workshop with Evelyn Felber at Fitnessbox Haidlfing. The focus was a practical question: how can strength, balance and orientation be trained to create more possibilities for action in everyday life?
Would you like to bring fall prevention into your studio or club?A workshop can explain what matters for safe movement and how exercises can be adapted to different starting conditions. In the free initial telephone consultation, we discuss the target group, framework and possible content.
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Discuss a suitable workshop →
Three hours for something often taken for granted in everyday life
Standing up, turning around, moving past a bag: while these movements work easily, we hardly think about them. When one becomes uncertain, more than walking often changes. Routes are chosen more carefully, situations avoided and movements made smaller.
This is exactly where the Haidlfing workshop began. Participants could discover different approaches to fall prevention and try them practically. It mattered to me to explain which ability an exercise addresses, rather than only demonstrate it.
The components we connected
Balance: responding to changesBalance training means more than standing still for as long as possible. In everyday life, the situation constantly changes. Balance exercises were therefore a central part of the workshop.
Strength: being able to perform movement at allLegs and trunk need capacity to support the body and control movements. Targeted strengthening complemented balance work. Neurocentric approaches sat alongside strength training rather than replacing it.
Responses: being prepared for difficult situationsPractical content also included simulation exercises for responding to a fall. Such tasks need a guided framework adapted to the person. They are not an invitation to deliberately lose balance at home.
Why strong legs alone do not explain every unsteadiness
To control movement, the nervous system uses information from the eyes, balance system and body, among other sources. Strength is an important prerequisite. The person additionally needs to recognise where they are in space and which direction they want to respond in.
An everyday example: standing works – turning around becomes difficultSomeone stands securely at the kitchen island. Unsteadiness only develops when turning towards the door. ‘More single-leg standing’ is then not automatically the most suitable answer. What becomes interesting is which part of the task causes difficulty: shifting gaze, turning the head, shifting weight or the subsequent step.
This describes my current perspective on such tasks: select a specific movement, distinguish its demands and consider the same movement again after a suitable change. This turns ‘I am unsteady’ into a task we can work on more specifically.
A good introduction – and an invitation to keep going
I was very pleased by the positive feedback and committed participation. A workshop can make ideas understandable and getting started with practice easier. For this to produce something in everyday life, suitable repetition, sufficient support and individual adaptation where needed must follow.
The contribution regular balance and functional training can make to fall prevention is also shown by the Cochrane review of exercise and fall prevention in older people living independently. A single workshop is one possible introduction, rather than a replacement for ongoing training.
New walking unsteadiness, repeated falls or dizziness require medical assessment. Vision, medicines and the home environment can also matter for safety.
Thank you to Haidlfing
Heartfelt thanks to Evelyn Felber and Fitnessbox Haidlfing for the cooperation, and to everyone whose questions and active participation shaped the afternoon. Events like these repeatedly show me the value of translating knowledge directly into movement.
Related pages and articles
Understanding everyday balance betterDizziness and balance: my focus in Vilshofen
Why balance is more than single-leg standing
What a functional perspective on dizziness can look like
Why balance is more than single-leg standing
What a functional perspective on dizziness can look like
Develop an offering for your groupAre you planning a workshop in the Vilshofen, Passau or Lower Bavaria area? Together, we can clarify which content fits your questions and starting conditions.
Arrange a free initial telephone consultation →
Arrange a free initial telephone consultation →
Sources and further links
- Fitnessbox Haidlfing: https://evelynfelber.de/fitnessbox/