Based on my grandmother who was always very mobile well into old age and did eventually become at risk for falls: a lot of it is not lifting your feet anymore. As the leg muscles get weaker, seniors often don't fully lift their feet off the ground when walking and this drastically increases the risk of tripping on shallow obstacles like the rim of a rug.
She was able to put on a shoe while standing on the other leg but she noticed that she had stopped properly lifting her feet while walking and this eventually led to her first bad fall after which she physically deteriorated further. She had to consciously think to lift her feet while walking rather than "shuffling".
I think the root cause for this may indeed be balance issues though as the "shuffle" feels like it would stabilize and balance issues make it harder to prevent a fall when tripping up.
I recall reading a study about how the nerves in the legs deteriorated as we got old, and how stimulating them with "noise" significantly reduced the risk of falling.
The method of stimulation was to have slightly bumpy surface under their feet, though can't recall if they used special socks or inlays or what.
IIRC the idea was to boost the stimulation when they walked to revert or counteract the deterioration of the nerves.
Interesting. Balancing exercises can strengthen your legs too, although obviously leg exercises would work better. I noticed a problem in older people who have never gone to a gym, is that they have no idea how to exercise, and no motivation to either.
She was able to put on a shoe while standing on the other leg but she noticed that she had stopped properly lifting her feet while walking and this eventually led to her first bad fall after which she physically deteriorated further. She had to consciously think to lift her feet while walking rather than "shuffling".
I think the root cause for this may indeed be balance issues though as the "shuffle" feels like it would stabilize and balance issues make it harder to prevent a fall when tripping up.