Background : Osteoporotic fractures are a major cause of morbidity and disability in elderly women. Most of these fractures result from a fall. Falls prevention measures largely applicable in the population may contribute to significantly reduce the number of fractures in the population. Recent randomized controlled trials have shown that exercise programs of relatively low intensity, but centered on balance retraining and targeted to subjects at moderate risk, can reduce the risk of falls by 30% in community-dwelling elderly people (Province MA et al 1995 ; Gillepsie LD et al 2003 ; Chang JT et al 2004). But, the effectiveness of exercise in preventing injuries caused by falls, in particular the most serious ones such as those accompanied by fractures, has not been demonstrated. Most previous trials are underpowered to examine the effect of fall prevention exercise programmes on severe injurious falls. Furthermore, there is no consensus about the outcomes of fall related injuries that should be evaluated in controlled trials, and the injurious falls definitions vary substantially across studies. Besides falls leading to fractures and other serious injuries, falls leading to medical care use ought to be considered as well, since their cost for society is high and their burden on the health care system heavy. Falls causing minor injuries are also important, as they may also have serious consequences, such as depression, fear of falling, and activity restriction.