Senior Fall Prevention in Palm Desert: A Class Teaching Older Adults How to Fall Safely

Falls are the leading cause of injury among adults over 65, but a new class in Palm Desertis helping seniors reduce that risk. At Desert Fitness Collective, a fall-prevention program teaches older adults how to fall safely while improving balance, strength, and confidence.

New Class Aims to Save Lives of Seniors at Risk of Falling

By Gavin Nguyen

April 2, 2025 9:50 AM

PALM DESERT, Calif. (KESQ) –"How to fall safely."

That's the concept behind a new class being held by one Palm Desert gym owner who is eager to help her community prevent injury.

As people age, risk of falling – and injury stemming from those falls – increases drastically.

Kaiser Permanente says 1 in 4 people aged 65 and older report a fall each year across the United States. In California, that number is slightly higher – 27% of this age group have fallen. And according to the CDC, falls are the leading cause of injury for this age group.

According to Dr. Esfandiar Nasr MD, the Coachella Valley's Assistant Area Medical Director with Kaiser Permanente, the demographics of our region is one of the reasons this risk is especially relevant here.

Cheryl Cohen is the owner of Desert Fitness Collective. She's hosting a brand new class to show her clients how to prevent injury if they fall.

"Learning how to protect yourself when you fall, it's life changing. And a lot of the inquiries that I get from people, they want to improve balance because they're afraid of falling or they have a history of falling," Cohen says.

That sentiment is true for most of the students in Cohen's inaugural "How to Fall Safely" class. Lorna Curtis has fallen several times in her life. Most recently, she says, "Recently, I fell in in tennis shoes. I was probably walking too fast, got out of the car, fell, hit my head, got a black eye."

Cohen featured a jiu jitsu and judo instructor named Jeshua who used his martial arts background to demonstrate ways to fall safely. The key: distributing the impact and using your body as a shock absorber, rather than breaking bones trying to brace yourself.

"Tuck and roll. That's really it," Cohen explains. "Try and think of yourself as a shock absorber so that when that impact happens, you try and absorb it."

Students were taught how to use their arms to absorb the impact. They also practiced falling forwards and backwards from a safe distance to build correct muscle memory.

By the end of the class, Cohen says she hopes students walk away "maybe not perfect, but having the skills to go home and practice so that it becomes instinctive that if they do lose their balance, if they do start to fall, then the right movements are going to come into play."

If you're interested in signing up for the class, you can visit Desert Fitness Collective's website, or call or text (760) 421-5154.

See the original story on NBC HERE.