With balance exercises being increasingly prescribed for older people as part of GP referral schemes and hospital rehabilitation programmes following falls or accidents, after a stroke, or with conditions such as Parkinson's and MS, one fitness brand meeting this demand is Keiser.

Keiser is so committed to serving the older adult population it has developed the Keiser Institute on Ageing to promote the dissemination of information on exercise and ageing (see HCM March 08, p34).

Keiser's mission is to teach older adults how proper exercise can slow their ageing process and improve their quality of life as they get older (see also HCM July 09, p42).

Furthermore, with its pneumatic equipment, Keiser has pioneered the use of compressed air to provide resistance. This is an effective way to increase strength and power and improve stability and mobility, as it uses air pressure to provide a consistent, controllable resistance, preventing shock loading to connective tissues and joints.

It also allows users to train at an appropriate speed for their requirements; older individuals need to be able to adapt quickly to slips, trips and falls, and this technology allows the user to gain knowledge of where their body is in space and how they can quickly adjust it to achieve a safe and balanced position to avoid a fall.