If You Fail These 4 Tests After 50, Your Risk of Falling Skyrockets
Balance is a crucial yet incredibly underrated skill that often flies under the radar. Yet it’s at the core of essentially everything you do—walking, sitting, standing, exercising, and playing sports. If your balance isn’t as solid as it should be, your risk of falls and injury increases with age. That’s why we learned five balance tests that reveal where you stand.
“As adults, we tend to challenge our balance system less. We stop spending time playing and performing activities like jumping, spinning, and climbing which, in childhood, help develop our balance,” says Dana Tress, physical therapist, certified concussion specialist, and ergonomic specialist at Smith Physical Therapy + Running Academy. “Our workouts as adults tend to focus on weight training, cardiovascular endurance, and mobility rather than balance. Therefore, the skill of balance acquired in our youth begins to decline typically by our 40s and 50s.”
While you may not recognize small changes in your balance at first, a decline in middle age is associated with a greater risk of falls as an older adult.
“With the CDC reporting that one in four adults over age 65 report falling each year, and falls being the primary cause of accidental catastrophic injury and death in that population, addressing balance in our 40s and 50s is imperative,” Tress stresses.
Balance isn’t just about preventing falls—it’s also crucial for living longer.
“Studies have shown that there is a significant connection between balance deficits and longevity,” says Melinda Rome, PT, Cert.MDT, MFDc, orthopedic physical therapist at Touro’s Outpatient Orthopedic Clinic and LCMC Health subsidiary. “As people age, their ability to maintain stability declines, making it a valuable measure of overall health and an indicator of how well our body systems are functioning together.”
Preserving balance requires multiple systems—neurological, musculoskeletal, and visual—to work harmoniously. A decline in any of these can negatively impact stability and may signal early health concerns.
5 Tests That Reveal How Solid Your Balance Is
Single-Leg Balance Test
“Not being able to stand on one leg for the average length of time is an indicator of future fall risk,” Tress points out. “Standing on one leg requires good static balance along with good sensation in the foot and leg, and good strength throughout the limb being tested. An inability to perform this test could indicate a problem with any of these areas that could lead to increased risk of falling in the future.”
How To Do It:
- Balance on one leg, barefoot, on a flat, solid surface.
- Your gaze should be forward and your arms crossed.
- The lifted leg should not touch your grounded leg.
- The time begins once your leg comes off the floor and stops when your foot touches the floor.
- The average time of this test is 7 seconds.
- If this test is too easy, consider trying it with your eyes closed.
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30-Second Sit-to-Stand Test
“Not being able to successfully perform this test may indicate decreased cardiovascular endurance, lack of mobility at one or more joints in the legs, or decreased strength in the legs,” says Tress. “Any of these problems correlate with an increased risk of falling in older adulthood.”
How To Do It:
- The 30-second sit-to-stand test is completed on a firm chair with your arms crossed.
- When the time starts, you’ll stand up completely and then return back to a seated position.
- The movement is repeated as many times as possible within a 30-second timeframe.
- If you’re unable to complete at least 12 reps, you’re more susceptible to falls.
Y-Balance Test
The Y-balance test is unique because it looks at dynamic balance, which is your ability to stay balanced while you move.
“Difficulty with this test can relate to decreased foot and ankle mobility and strength, decreased hip mobility and strength, and poor balance,” Tress notes. “Physical problems we encounter as we age, such as arthritis, can limit our ability to maintain dynamic balance as we get older. Decreased strength, mobility and dynamic balance all correlate with increased fall risk as we get older.”
How To Do It:
- Recruit a buddy to help take measurements. Use tape to make a “Y” shape on the ground.
- Stand at the center point of the “Y” so that you’re facing the bottom of the letter.
- Balance on one leg while reaching with the other leg as far as you’re able to forward, back across your body, and back away from your body.
- Repeat on the other side.
- Your partner will measure how far from the center you’re able to reach your toes on each part of the “Y” shape. Healthy adults should be able to achieve an average of ~24 inches in the forward direction, ~39 inches back away from the body, and ~39 inches back across the body.
Gait Speed Test
Knowing what your normal walking pace is reveals an excellent baseline you can use well into the future to tell whether your speed has declined.
“Walking speed requires good leg strength, proper mobility in all the joints in our legs, dynamic balance, and cardiovascular endurance,” Tress says.
How To Do It:
- Set up two cones far apart. The further they are from each other, the more accurate the test is.
- Time how long it takes you to walk at a normal pace between the two cones.
- Individuals should be able to walk at a minimum of ~4.6 feet per second. Speeds less than this are linked to a greater fall risk.
Timed Up-and-Go Test
This test blends sitting, standing, and walking. “There is normative data on this test that determines a person’s fall risk level,” says Rome.
- Begin seated.
- Stand up.
- Walking 10 feet.
- Turn around.
- Walk back.
- Sit back down.
- Time how long it takes you to complete this process. The benchmark to shoot for would be less than 25 seconds. You’re at a moderate risk for falls if your time is between 25 and 35 seconds and at a high risk if it’s greater than 35.
