Balance training
Also called: balance exercises
What it means
Balance training is practice that improves your stability and coordination so you're less likely to fall — and falls are the most common reason people break bones.
Even with reasonably strong bones, poor balance raises your fracture risk, so steadier footing is one of the most direct ways to protect yourself.
Most fractures happen because someone falls, not simply because their bones are weak. That's why balance matters as much as bone density. Balance training includes simple daily practices like standing on one leg while brushing your teeth, walking heel-to-toe, standing up from a chair without using your hands, reaching in different directions while standing, and activities like tai chi or yoga, which have been shown to improve balance significantly.
Research on older adults living in the community has found that this kind of training can meaningfully reduce falls and fall-related fractures, and this benefit happens independently of any changes in bone density itself. In other words, better balance protects you even if your bone strength stays the same. Low bone density, weak muscles, and poor balance together create a compounding risk, so improving any one of them helps.
Balance training works best as one part of a broader toolkit alongside nutrition, supplementation, resistance training, sleep, and stress management — no single piece does everything on its own. Starting simple and progressing gradually is recommended, and even short daily sessions, around ten minutes, can make a meaningful difference over time.
How sure is this?
Graded Established Science: Supported by broad scientific consensus and decades of research. Read each study with its grade in mind. One study is a piece of the picture, not the whole of it.
Where the Academy teaches it
This page is the short version. The lessons teach it in full, with the context around it and a quiz to lock it in.
Questions people ask about this
Between sessions, focus on four things: weight-bearing activity most days, resistance training a couple times a week, daily balance practice, and at least one rest day. This daily movement doesn't replace what happens during your session, but it supports your muscles, circulation, and balance, which all work alongside your bones.
Read the full answer →Yes — for most people with osteoporosis, exercise is not just safe but genuinely beneficial. Resistance and weight-bearing exercise help maintain bone density and strongly reduce fall risk by improving muscle, balance, and coordination — and since most fractures after 50 start with a fall, that protection matters a great deal. That said, your own situation (fracture history, balance, other health conditions) should guide exactly what type and intensity is right for you, so it's worth discussing specifics with your doctor.
Read the full answer →Related words
Fall risk is how likely you are to fall, and it matters because falling—not just weak bones—is the most common cause…
Resistance training is exercise where your muscles work against weight or resistance, like squats, deadlifts, or…
Sarcopenia is the gradual loss of muscle mass and strength that comes with aging, and it's closely tied to bone health.
A hip fracture is a break at the femoral neck, the narrow part of bone connecting the hip joint ball to the thigh…
A fragility fracture is a broken bone caused by a fall or bump that normally wouldn't break a healthy bone, often at…
Education only, not medical advice. Decisions about tests, medications and treatment belong with your own doctor. OsteoStrong does not diagnose, treat or cure any disease.
