Senate aging hearing: Experts urge using sports-medicine practices to prevent falls and keep seniors active

At a hearing of the U.S. Senate Special Committee on Aging, medical and community experts urged federal support for applying sports‑medicine practices — including structured strength training, balance work and multidisciplinary care teams — to prevent falls and improve health outcomes for older Americans.

The witnesses said the approach would shift care from treating injury after it occurs to preventing decline, and they called for stable federal funding for community programs under the Older Americans Act to scale proven interventions.

The push matters because falls are a leading cause of injury and death among older adults, generate large health costs and often remove seniors’ independence. Witnesses cited national data and local program results to argue that relatively modest investments in community prevention and workforce capacity can reduce downstream medical spending and preserve functioning.

Dr. Lyle Kane, an orthopedic surgeon and team physician at Andrews Sports Medicine Group, told the committee that sports medicine relies on a multidisciplinary team — certified athletic trainers, physical therapists, dietitians, primary‑care clinicians and orthopedic surgeons — and that a similar team model could identify and reduce fall risk among older adults. "Sports medicine is truly a team effort," Kane said, describing preparticipation risk profiling used with athletes and arguing that primary care visits currently miss musculoskeletal and balance evaluations that predict falls.

Kane described…