Stability exercises improved balance and strength in older men
After eight weeks, men assigned to exercise scored 3.79 points higher on a balance scale than men receiving no intervention, after accounting for age.
Limit: The trial measured test performance, not falls
Edited by Boris Djordjevic · AgingResearch.News
Thirty men aged 61–76 from Shahrekord, Iran, took part in a randomized controlled trial of exercises combining breathing, posture and movement practice. Researchers assigned 15 men to three supervised, 55-minute sessions weekly for eight weeks and 15 to no intervention.
After adjusting for age, the exercise group scored 3.79 points higher than controls on the Berg Balance Scale, which assesses balance during everyday movements. They completed a test of standing, walking and sitting 0.87 seconds faster and performed 1.77 more repetitions in a 30-second chair-stand test of leg strength. No serious adverse events occurred in either group. A small number in both groups reported mild, temporary muscle or joint discomfort during the first one to two weeks, which resolved without medication or withdrawal.
Why it matters
Balance and leg strength are important to fall prevention in older adults, making them targets for research on maintaining physical function with age.
Caveats
The trial measured test performance, not falls, and had no follow-up after the program. Its 30 participants were men aged 61–76, so the results do not establish benefits for women or people outside that age range.
The paper
University of Kurdistan; Universidade Federal de Ciências da Saúde de Porto Alegre
Journal of Aging Research, Jan 1, 2026, Open access