New Delhi, Aug. 10 -- While watching a young twenty-something fitness instructor balance on one foot while tying the shoelaces of the other, I remarked that such feats were a generational thing. "Nope," he said. "That's a balance thing." Saying which, the class that followed was all about finding balance amidst stumbles and grumbles.

Falls can kill, not just dramatic plunges but also seemingly minor slips - particularly among older adults. A friend recently texted that he lost his 90-year-old father to a fall at home. Another's 89-year-old mother-in-law required stitches after a fall and never fully recovered. The incidence of falls in people over 65 is around 28 percent.

Dr Shobha N, neurologist and stroke physician at Manipal Hospital...