Older Adults Use Fall-Prevention Strategies While Turning

Study finds some older adults use protective movements to stay balanced during turns

Jan. 29, 2026 at 12:55am

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A study by researchers at Stevens Institute of Technology found that some older adults use protective strategies, like limiting side-to-side sway, when turning while walking in order to prevent falls. The researchers say this challenges the assumption that slower or more hesitant movements are always a sign of poor balance, and emphasizes the need to evaluate balance during common daily mobility tasks like turning, not just straight walking.

Why it matters

Falls are a major health concern for older adults, often leading to serious injuries like hip fractures that can significantly impact quality of life. Understanding how older adults regulate their balance during turning, a common daily activity that increases fall risk, can help develop more effective fall prevention strategies and rehabilitation programs.

The details

The study simulated a grocery store environment with a T-shaped walkway, where participants aged 65 and older performed three tasks of increasing difficulty: walking straight, making a pre-planned turn, and making an unexpected turn. The researchers used full-body motion tracking to collect data on the participants' balance and body movements. They found that while older adults navigated turns similarly to younger adults overall, some older adults used protective strategies like limiting side-to-side sway to stay balanced, especially those with higher fall risk factors. This suggests these 'slower' movements may actually be an effective balance strategy, rather than a sign of poor balance.

  • The study was published on January 28, 2026.

The players

Antonia Zaferiou

An assistant professor in the Department of Biomedical Engineering at Stevens Institute of Technology, whose research focuses on understanding and improving movement mechanics used during transitional maneuvers.

Zahava M. Hirsch

A student who collaborated with Zaferiou on the study.

Mitchell Tillman

A student who collaborated with Zaferiou on the study.

Jun M. Liu

A student who collaborated with Zaferiou on the study.

Janine Molino

A collaborator from Brown University who worked with Zaferiou on the study.

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What they’re saying

“When you rotate your body about vertical, it conflicts with the mechanics of balancing. Walking in a straight line is a series of controlled falls forward, where your next footfall catches you and brings you into the next step. With turns, the controlled fall is in a different direction, requiring more complex body rotations and footfall maneuvers to safely catch yourself in the next step.”

— Antonia Zaferiou, Assistant Professor, Stevens Department of Biomedical Engineering

“Prior research attributes faster sway to worse balance control, but there was a difference in how some of the older adults in our cohort were controlling their balance during a turn. Those who were not fearful of falling or had better balance clinical evaluations swayed faster during a turn, mimicking the younger adults. And those who were fearful or had worse balance clinical evaluations used protective strategies, minimizing side to side sway. So, those with higher risk factors actually executed safer strategies to turn in our study.”

— Antonia Zaferiou, Assistant Professor, Stevens Department of Biomedical Engineering

“Our study helps shed light on the fact that people are in riskier mechanical states when they are turning, so it emphasizes the necessity of evaluating their balance during these common daily mobility tasks. By establishing and understanding the boundaries between healthy and compensatory strategies used by older adults during turns can embolden future clinicians to evaluate and treat their patients' balance dynamics during turns in an evidence-based manner, reducing fall risk more effectively.”

— Antonia Zaferiou, Assistant Professor, Stevens Department of Biomedical Engineering

What’s next

The researchers plan to continue studying how older adults regulate their balance during turning and other complex mobility tasks, in order to develop more effective fall prevention strategies and rehabilitation programs.

The takeaway

This study challenges the assumption that slower or more hesitant movements in older adults are always a sign of poor balance. Instead, it suggests that some protective strategies, like limiting side-to-side sway, may actually be an effective way for higher-risk older adults to stay balanced during turning and other daily mobility tasks that increase fall risk.