Main image
25th May
2010
written by Sarah Loewen

Balance, like many things, typically declines with age, but it doesn’t have to. Balancing on a daily basis can ensure you maintain this ability well into, and beyond, your autumn years.

Good balance comes from strong core muscles and trained joint proprioceptors. The easiest way to incorporate a regular balancing act into your routine, is to brush your teeth standing on one foot. While it may seem obvious, alternate legs; If you brush in the morning on the right leg, finish the day on the left.

You can up the ante, and create pause in your busy day, by balancing on one foot with your eyes closed. Removing the visual input means you have to rely on your muscles and joint sensors. Its surprising how tough this really is.

Incorporating regular balancing exercises is an easy way to strengthen your abs, increase your joint stability and decrease the risk of injury.

3 Comments

  1. 26/05/2010

    My parents are both in their 80′s with one being in a nursing home, so I have regular reminders of the importance of balance. We younger folks tend to totally take this for granted, but for the elderly, it’s a life and death issue. One fall that results in a broken hip can be the beginning of the end for those folks.

  2. 26/05/2010

    You are absolutely right and somehow I hacve become middle aged. Its feels strange even saying that….. and I know before I know it, I will be on the other side of middle age. It feels even stranger saying that…. But in this case the old adage an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure really applies.

  3. Will be back soon, lovely post, thanks again have bookmarked you!

Leave a Reply

Spam Protection by WP-SpamFree

Get Adobe Flash playerPlugin by wpburn.com wordpress themes