Ballet for Fall Prevention: How Older Adults Can Improve Balance
BALLET SCIENCE PODCAST: EPISODE 3
Can ballet prevent falls in older adults?
Falls are the #1 cause of injury in older adults… could ballet training help prevent them? In this video, we break down the science behind ballet and fall prevention. Learn how recreational ballet training improves balance, enhances slip recovery, and changes neuromuscular response patterns in older adults.
We explore the biomechanics of recovery steps, trunk control, and EMG muscle activation, and why dancers respond faster when they lose their balance.
Research citations:
- Simpkins, C., & Yang, F. (2024). Ballet practice improves neuromuscular and biomechanical responses to an unexpected standing-slip in older adults. Journal of Neurophysiology, 132(4), 1115-1125. https://doi.org/10.1152/jn.00219.2024
- Simpkins, C., & Yang, F. (2025). Recreational older ballet dancers adapt faster to repeated standing-slips than older non-dancers. Complementary Therapies in Clinical Practice, 101950. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ctcp.2025.101950
- Simpkins, C., & Yang, F. (2025). Recreational older ballet dancers fall less with more effective reactive balance control than non-dancers after a slip during gait. Experimental Brain Research, 243(3), 75. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00221-025-07021-y
