The key to good balance is complex.
Good balance is an easy thing to take for granted, especially when you’re young. The complex processes by which you stay upright and move through space—which involve the brain and spinal cord, inner ear, eyes, peripheral nerves, muscles and bones are barely noticeable when functioning properly.
Why is balance important?
I think it can be summed up by sharing that 95% of hip fractures happen when an older person slips and falls. That is an alarming statistic!
Balance is critical for many aspects in life. We need good balance to perform everyday activities such as going up or down stairs or reaching for a high shelf or picking up things from the floor.
Preventing falls is more important as we get older. When you have good balance, you have a better ability to quickly adapt to changes in body position and react to unexpected variations. For example, stepping on a rock or pebble that you didn’t see while out for a walk and being able to centre yourself without falling.
What can we do to help our balance?
Balance issues can arise from a range of areas:
- Changes to medications
- Injury
- Illnesses especially ones that affect the inner ear and
- Nerve damage.
But the most common reason is physical deterioration. It is so important to make sure that you continue to exercise. As such, it is so important to make sure that you continue to exercise. And this is one area we can help you! Focus on exercises like the ones below:
- Standing on one leg with your eyes open and shut
- Sanding on unstable surfaces such as a balance pillow or mat
- Step ups
- Side steps
- Squats and lunges
- Exercises that strengthen the legs, ankles and knees.
How can you tell whether your balance is getting better?
Balance can be measured using a balance mat. These are used to measure the postural sway that a person has whilst standing in several positions such as single leg stance and tandem stance. The mat measures the sway electrically.
Vintage Fitness is delighted to be able to offer a balance test to benchmark you balance levels and then track improvement.
The great news is balance is a trainable skill, like riding a bike, The more you practice, the better your balance will get.