Balance training is teaching the body to react to changes in position. For example,
when you sway form side-to-side or forward or backward your brain and
central nervous system quickly turn on your muscles that will put you back in the
center. The more you train your balance system the better they respond. No one
group of muscles control balance. Depending on the movement, your brain
decides what muscles it needs to recruit at the moment to help maintain or re-gain
balance. Balance training doesn’t have to take a long time. Just minutes a day,
added to your current exercise routine, can give results in a short period of time.
Improving lower body strength will help you improve your balance, and better
balance means reduced risk of falls.
Here are some safety tips for lower body exercise. If needed, hold on to a chair for
balance initially using both hands. To progress try moving from both hands to
only one hand. And then from one hand to only one finger tip. When you feel
comfortable using just one fingertip, try the lower body exercises with out holding
on at all. If you feel steady on your feet, move to doing the exercises using no
hands and with your eyes closed. Again, have someone standing close by if you
feel unsteady.
Most people think that to “stand up straight” means you have to heave your
chest “up and out” and then pull your head back in to your chest. This is not so.
The spine has two natural curves that you need to maintain called the “double C” or
“S” curves, these are the curves found from the base of your head to your
shoulders and the curve from the upper back to the base of the spine. When
standing with proper posture, make sure that your weight is evenly distributed
through your feet. You might feel like you are leaning forward, and look off
balanced, but you don’t. Proper alignment places your ears loosely above the
shoulders, above your hips, and then again above your ankles. These points
make a straight line, even though the spine itself curves in a slight “S.”
Stand with weight mostly on the balls of the feet, not with your weight distributed
only through your heels. Avoid locking your knees. Keep feet slightly apart,
about shoulder width. Let arms hang down naturally to the sides of the body.
Direct your eyes forward to focus on a target, with your chin parallel to the floor.
Gently move your head straight back until your ears are over your shoulders. Stand
straight and tall with shoulders up right. Imagine that the top of the head is being
pulled toward the ceiling by a string.
There are three strategies to use for postural control. The first is the ankle
strategy. The body moves as a single unit about the ankle joints. The upper and
lower portion of the body moves in the same direction. This strategy is generally
uses to control sway when we are standing upright in space or swaying
through a very small range of motion. Effective ankle strategy requires: sufficient
range of motion and strength in the ankle joints, a solid wide surface below the feet,
and an adequate level of sensation in the feet and ankles.
The second strategy is the hip strategy. The upper and lower body move in
opposite directions as a result of the hip muscles being activated to control
balance. Effect hip strategy requires: sufficient range of motion and strength in
the hip region.
And finally the third strategy is the step strategy. When the center of gravity is
transferred beyond the maximal stability limits or sway is too big to use the hip
strategy effectively the step strategy requires a new base of support be
established by stepping with your foot and utilizing your ankles and hips in the
most effective simultaneous movement. Effective step strategy requires: sufficient
lower body muscle strength, power, and range of motion and the ability to move
the limb rapidly during step initiation.
The core consist of many different muscles that stabilize the spine from the neck and
shoulders to the pelvis. These muscles provide a solid foundation for movement
in the extremities, and since all powerful movements originate from the center of
the body out, the spine must be stable and solid before the extremities can
contract effectively. Well conditioned core muscles can correct postural imbalances
and improve functional fitness. That is fitness essential to performing the regular
activities of daily living.
The abdominals are often thought of as the major muscles involved in core
conditioning; however, they provide only a small contribution to overall core
training. The list of muscles that contract and stabilize a spine includes much more
than just the “abs.”
Abdominal bracing is the act of “stiffening” or “tightening” the muscles
of the midsection.
The rectus abdominis. . The most well known “six-pack” muscles are located in
the front of the trunk. They allow the spine to flex and bend forward.
Sometimes referred to as “upper abs” and “lower abs” it is really one muscle.
Different exercises can target more fibers in the upper or lower region of the
muscles, but you cant contract either independently of the other.
Obliques. Internal and external obliques are located on the side and front of the
abdomen and allow the trunk to rotate while they support and stabilize. They will
be called into action during rotational movement and during most stabilization.
The transverse abdominis is the deepest of the abdominal muscles and located under
the obliques. It wraps around your spine for protection and stability and is used to
compress the abdomen. A great way to learn to recruit the transverse abdominis
is to concentrate on pulling your naval back in to your spine without moving your
hips or bending. Breathe evenly while contracting. This can be done either
seating, standing, or lying. Being able to activate this muscle is key in maintaining
a neutral spine during all exercises.
The erector spinae are located along your back. These muscles allow the spine to
extend or bend backward. To help you return to good sitting posture from
forward bending, it is import to include exercises that target these muscles so
that there is balance between trunk muscles in the front and back.