Tailored exercise is key to preventing falls

EDITOR—The role of exercise in effectively preventing falls has had a mixed press. Profound conclusions have been drawn from research studies with severe limitations, including non-selection of those who had had falls, brief intervention periods, and exercise of insufficient intensityto stimulate improvement. Many were alarmed by a trial in which those who had falls fell more often after being encouraged to walk—if the authors had prescribed the balance, gait, and strength exercises used in New Zealand before walking, this unfortunate outcome …