BLOG 72 BALANCE

BLOG 72 BALANCE

Having good balance is important for many of our daily living activities. It is a motor skill we often under appreciate until we become aware of it the hard way. Think about when we first learn to walk; balance is certainly needed and babies hold onto items to keep themselves upright.  Many of our workouts require balance, while we use our core as our center of gravity to prevent falling. So let’s take a look at this concept and explore further why we need balance and how we can improve it. 

What is balance?? By definition, “Balance is the ability to maintain control of a particular body position whilst performing a given task with minimal postural sway” (http://www.balanceability.com/what-is-balanceability/why-is-balance-so-important). Probably the most common example would be standing on one leg. There are two types of balance which are static and dynamic. Here the definitions for these: “Static balance is the ability to maintain control of a position whilst remaining stationary - for example, balancing on one leg or holding a headstand. Dynamic balance is the ability to maintain balance and control of the body whilst moving, such as hopping, jumping, riding a bike or snowboarding” (http://www.balanceability.com/what-is-balanceability/why-is-balance-so-important).

As I mentioned, balance is a motor skill acquired early on. Learning to walk and ride a bike are our first encounters with learning to stabilize the upper and lower body while maintaining symmetry. As we age, this skill becomes even more important to have to prevent falls. Balance is controlled by the vestibular system. The canals of the inner ear act like sensors that send nerve impulses to the brain that inhibit our special awareness. Often times when experiencing vertigo or dizziness, the fluid in the ear is not functioning normally.

Simple balance training you can do would be standing on one foot for a designated amount of time like one minute or walking on your heels. Check out why balance is so important as we age:
According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (https://www.ncoa.org/news/resources-for-reporters/get-the-facts/falls-prevention-facts/) : 

• One-third of Americans aged 65+ falls each year.
• Every 11 seconds, an older adult is treated in the emergency room for a fall; every 19 minutes, an older adult dies from a fall.
• Falls are the leading cause of fatal injury and the most common cause of nonfatal trauma-related hospital admissions among older adults.
• Falls result in more than 2.8 million injuries treated in emergency departments annually, including over 800,000 hospitalizations and more than 27,000 deaths.
• In 2013, the total cost of fall injuries was $34 billion.
• The financial toll for older adult falls is expected to increase as the population ages and may reach $67.7 billion by 2020. 

As a Senior Fitness Specialist I certainly incorporate balance training. This starts at the core and transcends to the limbs. Balance is used for sport specific training as well. A soccer goalie has to move with agility and recover from rapid movements by having the balance to stabilize after quick movements. When going for a rebound in basketball, one must balance while being challenged physically (almost being pushed) to grab the ball. We balance in all that we do, even walking. So hey, stand up right now and balance on one leg for 30 seconds each. How did it go?? On our fitness journeys we need balance both mentally and physically, but that’s enough for a whole other Blog.