You never know what schemes clever people are devising. The folks at MIT’s Age Lab, for example, are currently enthused about a “biosuit” which, among other things, might protect people from the effects of falling.

Worn under clothing, this lightweight “space suit” would have shock-absorbing material designed to safeguard the vulnerable parts of the human body. In addition, there would be compact motors and other systems making it easier for those with disabilities to walk and navigate obstacles.

Such futuristic devices always stir my imagination and enlarge my thinking about “what if.” Inventors like those working on the space suit remind everyone how much the world can be improved, if only we dare to think “outside the box” of conventional ideas.

The effort to prevent falls, in particular, deserves applause because so many people, especially the older ones among us, fall down so often and with such devastating results. I would wager that individuals reading this column know of someone who has fallen recently. I do.

One of my neighbors fell in her home a few weeks ago and broke a bone in her shoulder. When I inquired from her close friend how my neighbor was doing, she reported that three other people she knows had recently also fallen down.

This past week, I walked into a local bank and approached a teller with whom I like to do business. Not having seen her for a while, I inquired for her health. She informed me that she had fallen at work and broken her shoulder. Just now, after a few weeks recuperating, had she returned to her job.

If this sounds to you like an epidemic, you have come close to the mark. One in every three Americans over age 65 falls each year. This equals 12 million elders who have the misfortune to fall down, most of them from a standing position rather than from a height.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, a federal agency concerned about the problem, reports some frightening statistics. About 13 thousand Americans die each year because of falls, about 10 thousand over age 65. Another 340,000 break their hips, with half of the older adults unable ever to return home to a life of independence, many of them dying within a year.

Hearing such statistics has been enough to make me more careful in recent years. Like many of my age peers, I tread streets and sidewalks much more carefully than when younger. Experience of past falls has made me wary of tripping over obstacles in my path.

Even more than many others, I have reason to take precautions: because of a birth injury to my left arm, I can break falls only by the use of one arm, not two. So on my daily walks out-of-doors, I take care.

This concern has also made me more aware of hazards at home. Small rugs attract my attention to make sure they present no danger. When going downstairs, I always grab hold of the rail. Moving into places poorly lit, I resolve to hire an electrician to install an extra light fixture. Meanwhile, I make a point of navigating those areas slowly.

In the face of dire statistics like those noted above, the need for action on the problem is urgent. Fortunately, we do not have to wait for the space suit to come off the drawing board on to the market. These protections may not have the same high tech pizzaz as the bio garment but they are at hand right now and are of proven value.

Chief among them is physical exercise. Regular exercise provides many benefits, one of them being improvement in balance. A noted researcher into longevity, Dr. Thomas Perls, calls exercise “the number one intervention for the prevention of frailty.”

If you welcome a suggestion for getting started on a modest but effective exercise program, I have a recommendation. You can call 1-800-222-2225, as I did, and the National Institute on Aging will send you a videotape, free of charge.

The exercises it shows you how to do are simple and do not require special equipment. A woman named Margaret Richard performs each one, slowly and clearly, inviting viewers to join her at each step. A detailed guidebook comes with the tape with helpful illustrations and additional information.

If, as this guidebook reports, “more than two-thirds of older adults don’t engage in regular physical activity,” I like to think a chief reason is incorrect ideas about what exercise requires. We think that it will hurt us, or that we need special equipment, or that we have to go to a gym. Others of us labor under the impression it’s for young people or for those who look good in gym clothes.

Starting regular exercise is like giving up smoking: no matter how late in life you begin, you will benefit and the benefits start immediately.

Richard Griffin