Staying Balanced

Do you find yourself holding on to something to keep your balance?  Have you stopped doing activities you always enjoyed because not sure of yourself?  In our earlier years, we took for granted that we would be agile and active forever; now all of sudden we can’t do simple daily tasks without steadying our self.  Unfortunately, as we age our sense of balance decreases and our risk of falling increase.  The National Institute on Aging warns that 1 in 3 people over 65 fall each year and falls are the cause of most hip fractures.  Many people that suffer a hip fracture never get back to normal.

There are numerous items that can cause problems with balance:

• Medical conditions

• Side effects of prescriptions

• Decrease in vision

• Reduced reaction time

• Poor posture

• Muscle weakness

• General inactivity

There are no guarantees to prevent falls but there are some changes you can do to help reduce the risk of falling.  Balance is a skill that improves with practice.  

Good posture is key to balance.  As we age, especially individuals that worked in office settings, our heads tend to jut forward throwing off our balance.  Our ears should be directly in line with our shoulders, which are in a direct line to our hips.  As we age, we need to focus on shoulders and arms being back and down and not curved to the front of the body.  As you are standing in line at the store or taking a walk, concentrate on pushing your shoulders together and down.  Focus on your ears, are they over your shoulders or protruding forward? concentrate on holding them in line with each other.   

A strong core is essential to good posture and balance.  You do not have to perform hundred of crunches or sit-ups to strengthen your core.  One of my favorite core stabilizing exercise, is as your driving, concentrate on pulling your stomach into the center of your body and hold for 30 seconds then release and repeat.  As we sit more, our hip muscle shorten and weaken our glute muscles (derriere muscles) which tends to tilt our hips forward causing us to round our backs.  By stretching your hip muscles, you will lengthen your front and strengthening your glutes and lower back will give you an improved posture.

Weakness in the lower limbs contributes to a decline in balance, therefore strengthen your lower body will improve your balance. A simple activity you can perform to improve your lower body strength is to stand using your left leg only while brushing your teeth in the morning and do the right leg at night.  Try not to hold on but just stabilize with 1 finger on the sink.  Focus on using your glutes and upper leg muscles to get in and out of chairs and while watching TV flex and extent your ankles.  By activating under active muscles, you will improve your lower body strength.  As your body posture improves you may find other nagging aches and pains disappear.

With making small changes in your daily routine, you will improve your balance and significantly reduce the risk of injury due to falls.  Working with a personal trainer, you can expand the improvements you made and get your confidence back to enjoying your life.