September is Falls Prevention Awareness Month, a national observance that encourages older adults, caregivers, families, and communities to take practical steps to reduce fall risks. Falls are a leading cause of injury among older adults, but many can be prevented through safer surroundings, healthy routines, and the right support.
For Veterans, fall prevention can be especially important. Whether you are aging at home, recovering from an injury, managing chronic pain, adapting to limited mobility, or using a cane, walker, brace, or prosthetic, staying steady helps protect the independence you worked hard to maintain.
Fall prevention is not about limiting your life. It is about making sure you can continue living it—confidently, safely, and on your terms.
A fall can interrupt far more than a day. It can affect mobility, confidence, routines, and the ability to remain safely at home. Veterans may face additional challenges from service-related injuries, joint pain, balance changes, vision or hearing concerns, medications, or reduced strength after illness or surgery.
The good news is that reducing fall risk does not have to mean making major changes all at once. Often, it begins with a few simple habits: clearing a walkway, wearing supportive footwear, using a handrail, getting up slowly, or asking for help with a task that does not feel safe.
September is an ideal time to look around your home, review your daily routines, and identify improvements that can make life safer year-round.
Your home should support your independence, not create unnecessary obstacles. Start with the areas you use most often: bedrooms, bathrooms, hallways, stairs, entryways, and the kitchen.
A safer home may include:
Take a slow walk through the home with a family member, friend, or caregiver. Look for anything that could make you trip, slip, lose balance, or overreach. A small adjustment today may prevent a much larger problem tomorrow.
Fall prevention is also about how you move through the day. Rushing, standing too quickly, carrying too much, or ignoring fatigue can all increase the chance of losing your balance.
Try these everyday habits:
Ask for help with tasks that feel unsafe, such as carrying laundry, reaching high shelves, navigating stairs, or walking on icy surfaces.
Asking for help is not surrendering independence. It is a smart, proactive decision that helps preserve it.
Strength, flexibility, and balance can play a meaningful role in helping prevent falls. Regular movement—at a level appropriate for your health and ability—can help you feel more stable and confident.
The Freedom Home Care fall-prevention guide includes several simple movements that can be performed with stable support nearby:
Sit to stand: From a sturdy chair, place both feet flat on the floor and practice rising to stand. If appropriate, try to use your legs rather than pushing up with your hands.
Calf raises: Hold a stable surface, lift your heels slowly to rise onto your toes, then lower with control.
Toe raises: Use light support from a counter or chair, lift your toes off the floor, then lower them slowly.
Heel-to-toe walking: Walk in a straight line, placing the heel of one foot directly in front of the toes of the other. Stay close to a wall, counter, or sturdy support for balance.
Check with your doctor, physical therapist, or other qualified health professional before beginning a new exercise routine, especially if you have had a recent fall, injury, surgery, severe pain, dizziness, or a change in mobility.
Some fall risks are not visible in the home. Changes in vision, hearing, medication side effects, pain, blood pressure, and balance can all affect how steady you feel.
Consider discussing these questions with your health care provider:
National falls-prevention efforts specifically encourage older adults to talk with a health care provider about personal risk factors and explore practical prevention strategies.
Your service required preparation, awareness, and the ability to adapt. Fall prevention uses those same strengths. It means recognizing risks early, making a plan, using the right equipment, and accepting support when it helps you stay safe.
This September, take one meaningful action: clear a hallway, install a non-slip mat, schedule a vision check, review medications, wear sturdier shoes, or ask someone to walk through your home with you. One step can lead to a safer, more confident routine.
At Freedom Home Care for Veterans, we believe Veterans deserve to live safely, independently, and with dignity in the homes they value. Thoughtful fall-prevention support can help make that possible—today and throughout every season.
