LEAGUE CITY, TX – At 69 years old, Lynn Slack says walking through his home is a calculation.
He looks down instead of ahead, checking for changes in the floor, slippery surfaces and anything that could catch his foot or cause his rollator to slide.
“Instability is number one. I’ve got to look down when I walk, not up,” Slack said.
Slack lives with inclusion body myositis, a progressive autoimmune disease that has weakened his muscles and affected his balance. The disease has forced him to give up driving, rely more heavily on his wife and rethink how he performs everyday tasks.
It has also made falling one of his greatest fears.
“Falling has always been my biggest fear, especially out in public, like in a grocery store or something like that,” Slack said.
Slack has fallen several times. At home, he believes he might be able to crawl toward something familiar and find a way back up. Away from home, he worries there may not be anyone nearby who can safely help him.
Even inside his League City home, Slack limits what he does when his wife is away.
“I don’t really get to move around freely here when she’s gone,” he said. “When she’s here, I know I’ll be okay. So when she’s gone, I kind of do just the basics, you know, if I have to use the restroom or whatever. And I don’t go in the kitchen.”
Slack and his wife purchased the home about 15 months ago to be closer to their children and grandchildren. He wants it to be the final home they buy, making safety and accessibility especially important as his condition progresses.
“This is -- I want this to be the last home that I ever purchased,” Slack said.
Falls are a leading threat to older adults
Slack’s fear is shared by millions of Americans.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, more than 14 million adults 65 and older — roughly one in four — report falling each year.
About 37% of older adults who fall report an injury that requires medical treatment or restricts their activity. Falls caused more than 43,000 deaths among adults 65 and older in 2024, making them the leading cause of injury death for that age group, according to the CDC.
But physical therapist Paige Denny said falling does not have to be accepted as an inevitable part of aging.
Denny is also the co-founder of Stay at Home Texas, a company that helps older adults and people with mobility challenges make their homes safer so they can remain independent for as long as possible.
The company conducts home assessments, recommends accessibility improvements and helps families plan modifications based on a person’s medical needs, movement and expected changes in mobility.
“Falling doesn’t have to be a problem of getting older,” Denny said. “If we stay on top of things and we’re proactive today, we can prevent falls from happening.”
Start with how someone moves through the home
When Denny conducts a home assessment, she begins with visible hazards such as rugs, furniture, clutter and lighting. She then watches how the person moves through the space.
A hallway may appear clear but still be difficult to navigate with a walker. A tight turn, narrow doorway or poorly positioned piece of furniture could force someone to change the way they move and increase the risk of losing balance.
Denny also looks for the workarounds people develop as their mobility changes, such as leaning on a wall, pulling on a towel rack or holding onto a refrigerator door.
“People just aren’t thinking this could cause a risk. This could cause a problem because we do it every day. It’s not a problem until it is,” Denny said.
Simple changes to help prevent a fall
Not every safety improvement requires an expensive renovation. Denny recommends starting with the areas people use most: entrances, bathrooms and kitchens.
Remove or secure rugs
Denny recommends what she calls the “toe test.” Lightly tap the edge of a rug with your toe. If the rug moves, it is not secure enough.
“If you do a little tap with your toe, just as if you’re stubbing your toe, if the rug moves, it’s not secure enough,” Denny said.
Loose rugs can be removed or secured with double-sided tape or rug grips. Denny said people should also consider the rug’s thickness. Thick, soft bathroom rugs can catch someone’s toes or toenails, especially when the person is barefoot.
Clear walkways
Move cords, clutter and unnecessary furniture out of frequently used paths. Make sure there is enough room for a walker, wheelchair or caregiver to pass through doorways and around corners.
Pet bowls and toys should also be moved out of walkways. Families should be mindful of pets that walk under someone’s feet, jump on them or bump into an assistive device.
Add better lighting
Add brighter lights in dim rooms, hallways and near stairs. Motion-activated lights can be especially helpful along the path between a bedroom and a bathroom.
Remote-controlled lights can also allow someone to turn on a light before getting out of bed instead of trying to find a switch in the dark.
Make the bathroom safer
Bathrooms are a significant concern because of water, slippery surfaces and the need to sit, stand and step over shower thresholds.
Possible improvements include:
- Properly installed grab bars near the toilet and inside or outside the shower
- A toilet seat riser or armrests around the toilet
- A shower chair that fits the size and shape of the shower
- A chair outside the shower to make it easier to move from a wet area to a dry one
- Thin, secured bath mats or non-slip flooring
- Enough room for a walker or caregiver
Denny cautioned that a towel rack should never be treated as a grab bar. A properly installed grab bar is designed to support body weight and should be secured into appropriate backing. A towel rack may be hollow, loosely mounted or unable to withstand someone pulling on it during a fall.
“If you have to pull, push, tug, lean, this is going to hold you up because we know it’s secure in the wall,” Denny said of a properly installed grab bar.
She also recommends having a professional determine the best placement. Standard guidelines may not account for differences in height, mobility or how each person enters and exits the shower.
Rearrange the kitchen
Frequently used kitchen items should be stored where they can be reached without stretching overhead, bending deeply or standing on a stool.
Denny recommends moving rarely used appliances and cookware to the highest or lowest shelves, then placing everyday items within easier reach. Pullout shelves can also bring items toward the user rather than forcing the person to lean into a cabinet.
Holding onto an open refrigerator door or cabinet is not a safe substitute for a stable surface.
“We’re doing things on a daily basis,” Denny said. “We just don’t realize we’ve compensated our movement patterns, our strength and our weakness is really the hidden factor, and now we’ve created ourselves a fall risk because of it.”
Building strength and stability
Fall prevention is not limited to changing the home. Maintaining strength, balance and mobility can also help people remain steady and independent.
In this video, Denny demonstrates simple exercises that can help strengthen the muscles people use while standing and walking.
One involves slowly standing up from a sturdy chair and sitting back down, without using the hands if it can be done safely. Another involves lifting yourself up from a chair to work out the arms.
She says anyone who has fallen before, experiences balance problems or has a medical condition affecting mobility should speak with a doctor or physical therapist before beginning a new exercise program.
Denny also recommends taking medications as directed and receiving regular vision screenings. Some medications can cause dizziness or affect balance, while vision changes may make it harder to identify hazards, shadows or changes in floor height.
Planning for Independence
Some households may eventually need larger modifications, including ramps, wider doorways or a redesigned bathroom. However, Denny said families can begin with affordable equipment, rearranged furniture and resources available through community organizations.
For Slack, prevention means slowing down and studying the path ahead before he moves.
“There’s no real reason to take a chance and push it,” he said. “Just go real slow.”
He hopes other older adults will make changes before a fall forces them to.
“This this is as bad as I want to get,” Slack said. “I don’t want to fall and make anything worse. You know, have to spend time in a hospital with a hip fracture or something like that. I don’t that’ll only make things worse. So I try to do anything I can.”
His message for others is simple:
“Just take your time and don’t get in a hurry because when you get in a hurry, only bad things can happen.”
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