Fitness Tip of the Day: Friday's Facts and Findings: The Importance of Balance Training

Going along with this week's challenge--I thought I'd post about the importance of balance training.

Don't remember what the challenge was?  It was to stand on one foot while brushing your teeth.  Doing something as simple as this everyday will help improve your balance.

The first question to answer is, "Why does balance decline as we age?"

I found several articles on the subject.  The one I found most informative is from Dr. Anthony Komaroff of Harvard Medical School.

He writes:

"A number of changes that come with aging can affect our balance.

• Inside our ears is a balance center called the vestibular system that detects where our body is in space. Are we upright or lying flat; are we standing on our feet or performing a handstand?
  The vestibular system is connected to centers in the brain that also control our balance. When the vestibular system and brain determine that we’re about to fall over, the brain directs the body to take corrective action. Maybe we twist back upright so we don’t fall. Maybe we’re too far off center to avoid falling, so our arms and hands stretch out to brace our fall.
  As we age, cells in the vestibular system die off. This affects how accurately we detect our position in space. That, in turn, affects our ability to correct our position. For example, if we start to tilt to the right and the vestibular system doesn’t detect this quickly, it becomes harder for the brain to prevent falling to the right.
• Our sight, the ability to focus and see things clearly, diminishes with age. So do depth perception, night vision and sensitivity to contrast. Eye problems can impair, blur or distort vision. The loss of these visual cues compromises balance. Corrective lenses or surgery may help.
• Blood pressure can dip suddenly when you stand up, causing dizziness, lightheadedness, blurry vision, even fainting. Standing up slowly — sitting first on the side of the bed when you rise, for example — may help.
• We lose a lot of muscle mass and strength as we age. We also lose power — a function of strength and speed — which affects balance, too. If you start to trip, power helps you react swiftly. Exercise can help you rebuild strength and power, or at least slow the pace of decline.
• Our reflexes and coordination slow with age. Thus, you may be more likely to stumble — and take more time to react when you do."

There are also many health problems that can affect our balance; these include arthritis, stroke, multiple sclerosis, Parkinson's disease and others.

Even some medications have side effects that can cause dizziness and lightheadedness, which can both compromise balance.

He also writes:  "Along with regular aerobic exercise and weight training, balance exercises are important as we get older. Such exercises really can help you improve your balance."

I found another article, this one from the Active Center for Health and Wellness website.  It is entitled, "The 5 Major Benefits of Balance Training. Do Not Neglect It!"

Here they are:

"1.  It benefits your neuromuscular coordination – basically it helps improve the communication between your brain and muscles.

  2.   It helps with muscle isolation – during balance training you have to maintain stabilization and you are forced to engage an individual muscle predominantly so that you are not using other muscles to help you “cheat.”

  3.  During balance training your body has to work that much harder to stabilize – in turn this helps you to burn more calories.

  4.  It helps with hip stabilization – with single leg type balance exercises your gluteus medius is engaged and worked.  Therefore, this helps with hip stabilization. 

  5.  It helps with core stabilization – this in turn helps to improve your coordination, athletic skill, and posture."

Balance training is important for everyone and it is easy to incorporate into any workout.  The easiest way is to simply perform an exercise balanced on one foot.  Bicep curls, for example could be performed while standing on one foot.  Yoga has a number of poses that are performed while balancing on one foot--Tree Pose, Split Down Dog, Warrior III and Eagle to name a few.

Another way to balance train is with the use a stability ball sometimes called a Swiss ball or Physio ball.  I posted a workout using this piece of equipment a while back.  Just sitting on the ball forces you to engage your core so that you don't fall off.  You can do arm exercises while sitting on the ball.  Exercises can also be performed while you have one knee on the ball and one foot on the floor.

Core training also helps to improve your balance.  All movement and balance comes from the core, so a stronger core will give you better balance.  Pilates, Yoga, and again use of the stability ball all help strengthen your core. 

There are also Bosu balls and hover boards that are used for this type of training.  But really, no special equipment is needed.

The following video is a Pilates workout that incorporates the stability ball called "Upside-Down Pilates."

If nothing else I encourage you to do the challenge and continue it as a lifestyle change.  You may save yourself from a nasty fall later down the road....