How Balanced Are You? – Finding Balance
Balance is a complicated thing, whether it is trying to find balance between work and family, trying to balance the books or in some people’s case just trying to stay upright!
The human body has a complex system, which works continuously to keep us balanced when we move around.
There are sensory and motor nerves, which run between our muscles and key motor and balance areas of the brain like the frontal lobe and cerebellum. There is the complex network of cells in our inner ears, which help us to determine whether we are upright or moving quickly and vision so we can see where we are. Proprioception, which works to tell us where our limbs are in space without us having to look, also plays a role. All this and more help us to balance as we go about our daily lives.
Developing a problem in one of these areas, invariably leads to either dizziness or unsteadiness and can be extremely disabling. The problem may be of a short term nature such as a virus in our inner ear making you dizzy for a few days or can be long term such as the loss of sensation, proprioception or brain function following a neurological condition for example.
As we increasingly follow a sedentary lifestyle, endlessly tied to our computers, desks, TV’s and cars our balance systems and core muscle strength get lazy and inefficient. This means if a problem does occur we have even further to go to correct it. In addition, as we get older balance systems naturally decline and it becomes harder to change and improve.
Why does it matter? Without balance, we become at risk of falling, falls lead to injury and immobility. Immobility leads to reduced independence, confidence and quality of life. So all in all, it is pretty important to be balance aware!
Below is some “normal” data showing where your balance function should be at different ages. Have a go and see where you are!
Test: Standing on one leg, hands on hips. Timing stops if foot touches the floor or a hand leaves the hips.
| Age | Eyes Open (Average, secs) | Eyes Closed (Average, secs) |
|---|---|---|
| 18-39 | 43.2 – 43.5 | 8.5 – 10.2 |
| 40-49 | 40.1 – 40.4 | 7.3 – 7.4 |
| 50-59 | 36 – 38.1 | 4.5 – 5.0 |
| 60-69 | 25.1 – 28.7 | 2.5 – 3.1 |
| 70-79 | 11.3 – 18.3 | 1.9 – 2.2 |
| 80-99 | 5.6 – 7.4 | 1.3 – 1.4 |
How did you do? A lot of people might be surprised to see where they ended up on the spectrum of results. If you scored in the right category for your age or better, then well done! Keep it up and you might never need to see one of us pesky physio people. If you didn’t score so well, then don’t worry, there are lots of easy everyday things that can be done to improve balance and the good news is, it improves really quickly!
- Try standing on one leg while waiting for the kettle to boil or while brushing your teeth. (Using light finger tip touch initially if needed is not cheating and will help you improve quicker)
- Keep mobile and active. Avoid sitting for long periods, even if you just get up and walk around the room every half an hour
- Practice walking heel to toe like on a tightrope, try forwards and backwards or while turning your head for a challenge
- Keep your leg muscles and core muscles strong with whatever exercise works for you
- Walk barefoot every now and then, we have so many useful nerve endings in our feet which help to inform our balance systems
If you have a neurological problem or other balance related problem, then there is lots that can be done for you too. There are many different ways to improve balance, proprioception and sensation for all sorts of conditions. Contact Sense Ability Therapy for a FREE initial phone consultation, advice and guidance:
07775 844839