By Sanjeev Sharma, MD, Chief Medical Officer, UpRight Science
Most of us focus on strength, cardiovascular fitness, and flexibility as we get older. Unfortunately, balance rarely gets the same attention, though it should.
Balance affects almost everything we do physically, from walking down a flight of stairs to stepping off a curb, getting out of a chair, or catching ourselves when we trip. And it can quietly decline with age, sometimes before we notice anything is wrong.
That makes balance worth thinking about long before a fall occurs. The good news is we can train ourselves to have better balance.
Several parts of the body need to work together for optimum balance. Your brain uses information from your eyes, inner ear, muscles, and joints to understand where you are in space and keep you upright. Your level of strength is important too. When you lose your balance, your legs and hips need enough strength to react quickly and help you recover.
Effective balance training should be progressive and paired with exercises that strengthen your lower body. Research on fall-prevention programs suggests that consistency matters. Meaningful changes generally require repeated training over a period of weeks rather than occasionally testing whether you can still stand on one foot.
Training for Balance
Here are five exercises I recommend to challenge several of the abilities that help us stay steady.
Stand on one leg
Stand beside a sturdy chair or counter so you have something to grab if necessary. Lift one foot off the floor and try to maintain your position. If you need to hold on initially, that’s fine. As your balance improves, use less hand support and gradually increase the difficulty.
Standing on one leg is one of the simplest ways to challenge basic postural control. This exercise reduces your base of support and forces your body to make small corrections to keep you upright.
Try a heel-to-toe stand and walk
Place one foot directly in front of the other, so the heel of your front foot touches your toes of the foot behind it. Hold the position while staying near a stable surface. Then, if you can do so safely, try taking several steps in a straight line while placing each heel directly in front of the opposite toes.
This narrow stance makes maintaining balance considerably harder and challenges the adjustments your body makes while you’re moving.
Get out of a chair without your hands
Sit in a sturdy chair with your feet planted on the floor. Without pushing off the armrests or your thighs, stand up. Then lower yourself back into the chair slowly and with control. Repeat the movement several times if you can.
This exercise is partly for balance and partly for strength, and that combination is important. Strong quadriceps, hips, and other lower-body muscles help us maintain stability and recover if we stumble. The ability to rise easily from a chair is something most of us need every day, making it a useful exercise for functional fitness.
Practice stepping sideways and backward
Stand near a counter or another stable support and practice controlled steps to each side. You can also carefully practice stepping backward.
Most of our exercises involve moving forward. Real life isn’t always so cooperative. Movements that require you to shift your weight and regain control in different directions are therefore important to practice. Losses of balance often occur when our bodies unexpectedly move outside the comfortable position to which we are accustomed.
Consider Tai Chi
Tai Chi, a popular exercise among older adults these days, combines slow, deliberate movement with constant changes in posture and weight distribution. Rather than holding one balance position, you repeatedly transfer your weight from one leg to the other while remaining controlled.
Studies on Tai Chi show great benefits for balance and fall prevention. You don’t need to become an expert. A beginner class or appropriately designed program can provide a useful way to practice balance regularly.
Don’t Forget Strength
One last important bit of information I need to add here: Strength training matters enormously. Balance and strength reinforce one another. Our sensory and neurological systems tell us when we are losing our balance, but we need the muscular strength to do something about it.
That becomes increasingly important as we age because rebuilding lost muscle becomes more difficult. For that reason, balance exercises are best combined with appropriate resistance training rather than treated as a separate part of fitness.
Think in Months, Not Minutes
Doing these exercises once can tell you something about your current abilities. Improving them takes consistency.
Programs shown to improve balance generally involve progressively challenging exercises several times a week and continuing them for at least 12 weeks. You’ll notice the exercises become somewhat more difficult as you improve as you start to rely less on your hands, narrow your stance, or perform more challenging movements.
Safety Comes First
It’s a good idea to practice standing exercises near something sturdy. If you have significant difficulty walking or balancing prior to beginning an exercise program, I recommend you speak with a physician or physical therapist before embarking on something new.
The Bottom Line
Don’t wait for a fall to start paying attention to balance. Many of us routinely track our weight, steps, blood pressure, and cardiovascular fitness because we understand that those numbers can tell us something about our health. Why is it that balance doesn’t seem to be as important to some of us? Balance deserves to be part of the overall conversation.
Being able to stay upright, recover from a stumble, and move confidently through the world is fundamental to independence. And unlike many changes that accompany aging, balance is something we can actively work to preserve.
About the Author: Dr. Sanjeev Sharma
Sanjeev Sharma, MD, MBA, is chief medical officer of UpRight Science. He was a founder of Highmark, the company that developed the FDA-cleared Software As A Medical Device balance technology that UpRight is bringing to the market. With fall-related deaths among adults 65 and older rising sharply over the past two decades, it is the mission of UpRight Science to flatten that curve with technology that is simple, scalable, and scientifically sound.
Leslie Farin is the Publisher and Founder of 50PlusToday. She is an experienced communications and marketing professional passionate about working with older adults and their families. She works with a team of writers to provide essential and cutting-edge information related to the 50Plus community.
