Moving well, staying steady, and not falling.
Start Here the foundations
Training Strong
A genuine top lever here (unlike on strength). Tai chi cut falls ~20% in community-dwelling older adults, cut falls 31% head-to-head against a full multimodal program, eased fear of falling, and about halved fall incidence; in Parkinson's it cut falls and steadied balance. Accessible, low-cost, well-tolerated. Cost
Free to MidFree to Mid · home practice up to classes
Effort
Easy to ModerateEasy to Moderate
Results In
Weeks to MonthsWeeks to Months
Self-Directed
Proven Add-Ons
Training Moderate
Counts here as a partner to balance work, not alone: balance plus resistance cut falls 34%, while resistance, dance, or walking alone showed no fall reduction (too few trials to tell). Builds the leg strength and power that catching a stumble depends on. Cost
Free to MidFree to Mid · bodyweight up to a gym
Effort
Moderate to HardModerate to Hard
Results In
Weeks to MonthsWeeks to Months
Self-Directed
Situational after the basics
Training Moderate
Steadier balance and mobility in older adults (small-to-medium effect); a fall reduction has not been shown yet. A reasonable balance practice, weaker evidence than tai chi for falls specifically. Cost
Free to LowFree to Low · Low cost · regular practice · benefits over weeks
Effort
ModerateModerate
Results In
Weeks to MonthsWeeks to Months
Self-Directed
Supplement Moderate
Deficiency-only, and dose-sensitive: 700 to 1000 IU/day cut falls ~19% in people who were low to begin with, but high doses backfire. A single 500,000 IU annual dose raised falls and fractures, and 60,000 IU monthly caused more falls than 24,000 IU. Correct a real deficiency at modest daily doses; do not mega-dose. Cost
LowLow · Cheap · a daily pill · deficiency corrects over weeks to months
Effort
EasyEasy
Results In
Weeks to MonthsWeeks to Months
Supplement
Emerging thin evidence
Training Emerging
Steadier standing after 16 weeks in adults 65 to 79. Emerging balance benefit; a gentle option in the tai chi family. Cost
FreeFree · a short daily set
Effort
EasyEasy
Results In
Weeks to MonthsWeeks to Months
Self-Directed
Supplement Preliminary
EGb 761 matched betahistine, a standard vertigo drug, over 12 weeks in a 160-patient trial. Preliminary for vertigo/dizziness. Cost
LowLow · Low-cost standardized extract · daily · large trials found no real memory benefit even after months
Effort
EasyEasy
Results In
Weeks to MonthsWeeks to Months
Supplement
Cost Free · $ · $$ · $$$ Effort Easy · Moderate · Hard Results In Same-day · Weeks · Months
Easy
Moderate
Hard
Free
$
$$
$$$
Levers with real evidence for mobility & balance. Tiers are the strength of that evidence, not our endorsement. An up arrow raises the goal; a down arrow is a reduce-lever.
Evidence strength
How confidently the research supports a claim. Strength describes the evidence, not our endorsement.
StrongLarge or repeated randomized trials point the same way (a firm "no effect" counts too).
ModerateGood trial evidence, but fewer, smaller, or less consistent studies.
EmergingEarly trials or pooled signals, real but not yet settled.
PreliminaryMostly indirect, animal, or observational evidence.
Risk or overturnedEvidence of risk, or a claim the trials have since reversed.