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A positive attitude to ageing amongst over 60s could aid their recovery after a fall
Dr Mathew Hill, Professor David Broom and Dr Hayley Wright from Coventry University
Tuesday 03 June 2025
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A new research study conducted by Coventry University and Imperial College London (ICL) has discovered that older adults who view ageing positively are more likely to recover better after a fall.
Falls are a major health concern for people over 60 and could lead to loss of mobility and independence.
With the NHS spending an estimated £6 million a day on fall-related injuries, understanding why some people recover better than others could be key to improving outcomes and reducing pressure on healthcare systems.
Dr Mathew Hill and Professor David Broom from our Research Centre for Physical Activity, Sport and Exercise Sciences and Dr Hayley Wright from our Research Centre for Intelligent Healthcare collaborated with ICL’s Department of Brain Sciences to analyse data from nearly 700 adults aged 60 to 90 across England.
Those who reported more positive beliefs about ageing – such as feeling age wasn’t holding them back from doing what they wanted – were significantly less likely to experience physical decline, reduced walking speed or dependence on others after a fall.
Compared to those with more negative perceptions of ageing, older adults with a more positive mindset were 162% less likely to develop slow walking speeds; 200% less likely to become dependent on others for everyday tasks; and 123% less likely to be physically inactive after a fall.
The association between positive ageing beliefs and better recovery remained even after controlling for factors such as age, gender, symptoms of depression, physical ability before the fall and whether the fall resulted in injury.
This indicates that the better recovery outcomes seen in those with a more positive outlook were not simply due to them being younger, in better health or experiencing less serious falls.
Although we knew from previous research that negative mindsets and beliefs about ageing are associated with increased risk of negative health outcomes, such as stroke and mortality, this is the first research linking these specifically to physical recovery after a fall.
Dr Mathew Hill, Co-Lead, Research Centre for Physical Activity, Sport and Exercise Sciences, Coventry University
Those who expressed more positive feelings about their own ageing seemed to be protected against worse physical consequences after a fall. There was substantial difference in the rate of physical recovery in the people we studied, and this seemed to be linked to their initial beliefs about growing older.
Dr Toby Ellmers, Co-Lead, Department of Brain Sciences, Imperial College London
The researchers now hope to explore whether helping people develop a more positive mindset around ageing – for example, through conversations with friends or family about the benefits of growing older – could support better physical recovery.
Find out more about the study.
