Sneakers help reduce falls among seniors

Eating right and exercising can help maintain your health, but watching your step may be just as important.

Falls are the most common cause of medical treatment for seniors and the leading cause of death from injury, according to the National Center for Injury Prevention and Control. More than a third of all adults over age 65 fall each year.

But changing your style of shoe may help prevent falls.

As it turns out, the most popular shoe -- the sneaker -- also has been shown to be the safest, according to a two-year study supported by grants from the center and the National Institute on Aging. Researchers found that seniors who wore sneakers decreased their odds of falling.

"Sneakers tend to be comfortable shoes," Dr. Thomas D. Koepsell, a professor of epidemiology at the University of Washington in Seattle and the lead investigator of the study, told HealthDay. "They make people a little more sure-footed."

Koepsell and his team followed more than 1,300 adults over age 65. After study participants fell, they were questioned about the circumstances of their fall and also were asked to bring the shoes they were wearing when they tumbled to their post-fall interviews.

About 300 seniors fell during the course of the study. Most falls occurred while walking outdoors near the home.

Those who wore shoes other than sneakers fell about 30 percent more often than the sneaker-wearers, the researchers found. Shoeless walkers fell 10 times more often.

"About a quarter of the people who fell needed medical care," Koepsell said. "The most common injuries were cuts and bruises," he said, but falls also caused 5 fractures, including four broken hips, and 15 head injuries. No one died from a fall during the study.

Study participant Maryann Breskin, 82, saw value in finding ways to reduce the risk of falling. "This study is really important," she told HealthDay. "I have too many friends who have fallen and broken their hips." Breskin admitted she was wearing leather lace-up shoes when she fell off a porch, but she noted that "other than the humiliation, I wasn't hurt."

Louis Christian, 83, also a study participant, told HealthDay his habits changed as a result of the study. "Everyone should acknowledge how many older people get injured or die from falls," Christian said. "Before the study, I was wearing more ordinary leather shoes. Now I wear sneakers for most non-dressy occasions. They seem to have more traction."

While experts agree that the low heel, strong-grip bottom and firm-but-flexible fit of sneakers make them a good choice for older people, some question the validity of the study.