Most of us probably know someone—a friend, a parent, a grandparent—who has experienced a fall. For the elderly, a fall can lead to serious or debilitating injuries like hip fractures or brain bleeds.

Falling is a pronounced danger for older adults because we naturally lose bone tissue as we age. Falling can expose weakened bones to levels of force that exceed their structural capacity, leading to a fracture. And the lack of activity following a fracture often causes a steep health decline.

In other words, falls can be fatal.

Why are fall-related deaths increasing?

In an article published on September 7, 2025, The New York Times reported that, according to the Center for Disease Control, more than 41,000 Americans died from falls in 2023. The Times also reported that fall-related mortality among American adults over 65 has tripled in the last 30 years.

Citing Dr. Thomas Farley in an article he wrote for JAMA Health Forum, the Times noted that, “Among those over 85, the cohort at highest risk, death rates from falls jumped to 339 per 100,000 in 2023, from 92 per 100,000 in 1990.”

What’s behind the spike in fall-related mortality is a mix of factors. Some link the rise to changes in how deaths are reported and to advancements in modern medicine that help people live longer—and becoming more frail as they age.

But Dr. Farley points to an over-reliance on a subset of prescription drugs known as FRIDs: “fall risk increasing drugs.” FRIDs include benzodiazepines, opioids, antidepressants and gabapentin. Per the Times:

[However], prescriptions for some fall-related drugs have already declined or hit plateaus, even as death rates because of falls have risen. Medicare data shows lower prescription opioid use beginning a decade ago, for example. . . . 

On the other hand, the use of antidepressants and of gabapentin has increased.

Whether or not medication use outweighs all other factors, “nobody disputes that these agents are overused and inappropriately used” and contribute to the troubling increase in fall death rates among seniors, Dr. Gill said.

Thus, the ongoing campaign for “de-prescribing” — stopping the medications whose potential harms outweigh their benefits, or reducing their dosage.

Strength training as preventative medicine

When it comes to falls among the elderly, prevention is the best medicine.

In 2024, the U.S. Preventative Services Task Force (USPSTF) recommended “exercise interventions” as the primary way to help prevent falls for Americans 65 and older.

Strength training is the best of interventions because it can reverse the aging process. Literally.

In 2007, researchers put seniors on a strength training program and discovered that hundreds of genes reverted back to youthful function. The cells inside the participants from the study epigenetically changed to function more like young people’s cells. In other words, strength training doesn’t just slow aging—it can actually reverse it at the genetic level.

Additional research bears this out. Roughly 70 percent of the 107 studies analyzed in a research review showed that strength training decreased older adults’ fall rate. Why? Because strength training directly addresses the underlying contributors of falls among the elderly:

• Age-related loss of muscle mass (sarcopenia)
• Decrease in bone tissue density
• Poor balance

How strength training boosts balance

Two studies showed that strength training’s ability to improve balance extended to those in their 80s and 90s. This makes intuitive sense, given that strength training stimulates muscles surrounding critical standing and walking joints. When strengthening the glutes (butt), quadriceps (front thighs), and hamstrings (back of the thighs), people can more effectively control and move their bodies, even when walking in unstable areas.

As our CEO, Kyle Recchia, said, “If you want to get better at walking stairs, carrying groceries, or getting up from a chair—nothing beats traditional strength training. Older adults don’t need circus-style training. What they need is what FastFit does best: safe, efficient, high-intensity strength training that directly builds the muscle and strength required for life’s real ‘functional’ movements.”

Fall prevention, fall recovery, and the way forward

Strength training works at preventing falls. And, yet, consistent adherence to a strength training regimen does not guarantee a fall-free life. Falls may still happen. But the research shows that strength training can lessen the severity of a fall. In the meta analysis mentioned above, when falls do happen, exercising adults are much less likely to fracture a bone or need medical attention.

Falls don’t have to be debilitating (or worse). Aging doesn’t have to drain us of everyday functionality. Getting older is inevitable, yes; but losing strength, independence, and the ability to do what you want to do is not. Your genes can function at more youthful levels.

“Older adults don’t need circus-style training. What they need is what FastFit does best: safe, efficient, high-intensity strength training that directly builds the muscle and strength required for life’s real ‘functional’ movements.” — Kyle Recchia, FastFit CEO

An intentional, effective, and consistent strength training regimen will do more for muscle maintenance and day-to-day stability—and will actually get to the root cause of falls and can possibly lead to less dependence on prescription medications.

Talk to your healthcare providers about potential fall-related side effects of your prescription drugs. And commit to developing your muscles through an effective strength training workout. The way up and out of America’s falling epidemic.