If you’ve fallen before, you know the fear doesn’t go away on its own. You start avoiding stairs. You hold onto walls even when you don’t need to. You worry about becoming a burden.
That fear keeps you from doing what you want. It limits where you go and what you feel comfortable doing at home.
Fall prevention therapy changes that. You work with a licensed physical therapist who comes to your home and builds a program around your specific risks—whether that’s weak legs, poor balance, dizziness, or just not feeling steady anymore. The exercises aren’t complicated. They’re designed to make you stronger and more stable in the movements you actually do every day.
Most people notice a difference within a few weeks. You’ll feel more solid on your feet. Stairs won’t feel as risky. Getting up from a chair or walking to the bathroom at night becomes automatic again, not something you have to plan for.
We’ve been helping older adults across Long Island stay safe and independent for over a decade. We focus on people who can’t easily get to a clinic—or who just prefer the comfort and convenience of therapy at home.
Our therapists are licensed, experienced, and trained specifically in geriatric care. They know how to assess fall risk, spot the warning signs, and create a plan that actually fits your life. We accept Medicare and most commercial insurance, so cost doesn’t have to be a barrier.
Elmont has a large senior population, and many of the homes here have stairs, narrow hallways, or layouts that can make mobility tricky as you age. We take that into account. Every plan is personalized, and every session is built around making your specific environment safer and easier to navigate.
First, a therapist comes to your home and does a full fall risk assessment. They’ll watch how you move, test your balance and strength, check your walking pattern, and look at things in your home that might increase your risk—like loose rugs, poor lighting, or furniture placement.
Then they build a treatment plan based on what they find. That usually includes balance exercises, strength training for your legs and core, gait training to improve how you walk, and sometimes coordination or reaction drills. If dizziness is part of the problem, they may include vestibular therapy to address inner ear issues.
You’ll typically have sessions two to three times a week. Each one lasts about 45 minutes to an hour. Your therapist will also give you exercises to do between visits—simple things you can manage on your own that keep the progress going.
As you get stronger, the program adjusts. The goal isn’t just to prevent falls. It’s to give you back the freedom to move through your day without constantly thinking about it.
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Every session is one-on-one. Your therapist isn’t splitting time between multiple patients. You get their full attention, and the program stays focused on your goals.
The exercises are evidence-based. That means they’re backed by research showing they actually reduce fall risk—not just generic stretches or movements. You’ll work on things like standing on one leg, weight shifting, stepping over obstacles, and getting up from different surfaces. These aren’t gym exercises. They’re real-life movements that matter.
You’ll also get education. Your therapist will explain why certain things increase your risk and what you can do about it. That might mean rearranging furniture, adding grab bars, improving lighting, or just being more aware of how you move when you’re tired or distracted.
In Elmont and across Nassau County, falls are one of the leading reasons older adults end up in the ER. Many of those falls happen at home, and many are preventable. You don’t have to wait until something happens. If you’ve noticed yourself feeling unsteady, if you’ve had a close call, or if you just don’t feel as solid as you used to—that’s enough reason to start.
If you’ve fallen in the past year, you need it. Falling once doubles your chance of falling again, and the second fall is often worse than the first.
But you don’t have to wait for a fall. If you feel unsteady when you walk, if you grab onto things more than you used to, if you avoid certain activities because you’re worried about losing your balance—those are all signs that your risk is higher than it should be. Dizziness, weakness in your legs, trouble getting out of a chair, or a fear of falling are also red flags.
A therapist can assess your risk even if you haven’t fallen yet. They’ll look at your strength, balance, gait, and home environment to figure out where the vulnerabilities are. Then they’ll build a plan to address them before something happens. It’s a lot easier to prevent a fall than to recover from one.
Yes. Medicare Part B covers physical therapy when it’s medically necessary, and fall prevention qualifies if you’ve had a fall or if your doctor determines you’re at high risk.
You’ll need a referral or prescription from your physician, but that’s usually straightforward. Once you have that, Medicare covers a significant portion of the cost. You may have a copay depending on your plan, but it’s typically manageable.
We also accept most commercial insurance plans. If you’re not sure what your coverage looks like, we can help you figure that out before you start. The goal is to make this accessible, not to add financial stress on top of everything else you’re dealing with.
The biggest difference is accuracy. A lot of balance exercises look simple, but if you’re doing them wrong—even slightly—they won’t help, and they might actually make things worse.
A therapist watches how you move and corrects your form in real time. They also know how to progress the exercises safely so you’re always working at the right level. Too easy and you won’t improve. Too hard and you risk injury or another fall.
They also catch things you wouldn’t notice on your own. Maybe your balance is fine when you’re paying attention, but it falls apart when you’re distracted. Maybe one leg is weaker than the other. Maybe your gait is off in a way that’s increasing your risk. A therapist sees those patterns and addresses them directly. You can’t do that from a YouTube video.
Most people start feeling more stable within three to four weeks. That doesn’t mean you’re done—it just means the work is paying off.
A full program usually runs eight to twelve weeks, depending on your starting point and your goals. Some people need less time. Some need more, especially if there are other health issues involved like arthritis, neuropathy, or a history of stroke.
The key is consistency. If you show up for your sessions and do the exercises between visits, you’ll see progress. If you skip sessions or don’t follow through at home, it takes longer. This isn’t a quick fix, but it’s also not a years-long process. You’re looking at a few months of focused work that can change how you move for the rest of your life.
Absolutely. Using a walker or cane doesn’t mean you’re beyond help. In fact, therapy can make you more effective with those devices and potentially reduce how much you rely on them.
A therapist will assess whether you’re using the right assistive device for your needs and whether you’re using it correctly. A lot of people use a cane on the wrong side or set their walker at the wrong height, which actually increases fall risk instead of reducing it.
They’ll also work on strengthening the muscles you need to stay upright and improving your balance within the limits of what’s realistic for you. The goal isn’t always to get rid of the walker. Sometimes it’s just to help you feel more confident and capable while using it. That still makes a huge difference in your day-to-day life.
Yes. If your balance issues are related to inner ear problems—like vertigo or vestibular disorders—we can address that with vestibular therapy.
This is a specialized type of physical therapy that retrains your brain to process balance signals correctly. It involves specific head and eye movements, balance exercises, and sometimes gait training to help you compensate for what’s not working in your inner ear.
It’s not a one-size-fits-all approach. Your therapist will figure out what’s causing the dizziness first, then build a program around that. Some people see improvement in just a few sessions. Others need more time. But if dizziness is keeping you from moving confidently, this is one of the most effective ways to fix it.
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