IMagine This perfect storm: Others forget the dishwasher, and later that night, you go to the dark kitchen for a drink of water. It collides with an ankle, the low dishwasher door, and you stumble. Do you hold yourself or crash?
Such scenarios inevitably occur and they pose great risks, partially because the lower part of the body constitutes only a third of the mass of the human body. “You are basically a balanced ball on a stick,” says Kentun Kaufman, professor of biomedical engineering at Mayo Clinic.
Given that each of us reaches a bowling pin upside down, our ability to walk, run and recover from almost magical pitfalls. To stay straight, our bodies should be smoothly integrated with a group of physical systems – including the brain, inner ear and nervous system.
So that they do not do it. With our age, magic wears. We are longWhich led to injuries such as broken hips that can lead to non -pregnancy.
But the deterioration can be prevented. The elderly can compensate for the lost balance, and young people can participate in slowing these declines and aging in general. Here is what to know about balance and how to enhance it.
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Each step you take is an oversight fall. While you tend to the front between the steps, your front leg is on a mission to re -establish the body support base. If you fail, you will become Gravity-Ting, and you head to the ground.
No pressure. We are designed for this purpose. The brain is the control of the task, and the coordination of inputs initially from multiple systems. “It is the center of the balance of the balance,” says the head of physical activity, mobility and neuroscience at the University of Columbia.
Entering one key is the liquid slipping into Channels From the inner ear we move. The brain records the slip and collects it with visual information – such as changing terrain and obstacles – along with sensory signals from the nervous system that discovers the position of the body in space, a trick called Proprioception.
Based on this information, the brain automatically Eyes direct In the opposite direction of the movement of the head, which settles the vision, and the muscles control all parts of the body, up to Foot muscles That supports arches and we move. Another key to balance CardiovascularThe vessels should work well to ensure the brain gets enough blood to avoid dizziness.
About 50, though, a mistake occurs.
Goodbye, balance
The fragile balance is Early warning system For biological aging. The 50 -year -old can balance one leg for 40 seconds. not bad. But this decreases to 20 seconds for children from 70 to 79 years, and the above mentioned group decreases to 10.
Kaufman says that the appearance of these changes at the age of 50 previous indicators of aging compared to other measures such as walking speed, which usually does not start to decrease up to about 70 years.
The main point of failure is light foot. We wander or slide because the front foot is not quite fast in recovering from unexpected challenges. It cannot be accessed where it should be unexpectedly. And when we stumble, the changing injuries of life may lead. “The fall is major reasons for people unable to live independently in their homes anymore,” says Liu Ambrose.
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They are the number one The cause of deadly injuries For the elderly. Data indicates this One in three people More than 65 falls in a certain year. When Kaufman studied a society of the elderly, he is Find Average higher: 59 %. The average age of the elderly who dies from the fall increased dramatically from 2012 to 2021.
The fall is the course of erosion and census for integrated material systems to achieve balance, most notably perception. The elderly who suffered from falling The smaller fortressA brain area helps in spatial movement, from those who avoid falling. The risk of falling is higher in people with nervous degeneration years before the development of dementia symptoms.
How to test your balance
How much time you can stand on one leg. Kaufman says that his making for 30 seconds indicates that you may not be wiped anytime soon. People in the second 5-10 domain are the ones who have a high risk of falling. “They should be examined by the doctor,” Kaufman says, in addition to trying to improve balance. “It is a real warning sign.”
Some other tests, which are usually provided by a physiotherapist, result in more comprehensive balances of balance. The Lord notes Short physical performance battery As simple but effective.
How to improve balance
In theory, balance can only be enhanced by testing tests such as the leg position. Certainly, you will improve the position of this position, but the ultimate goal is to master the balance while moving in countless ways through a world full of ice berths, loose carpets and dog games in its place.
“The most improving balance is when you feel that you are able to make your strongest and trust,” says Ageless Fitness, Julie Pollard, a California -based balance of Training in Santa Barbara.
Living to the fullest extent translates into more luxury, purpose and exercise, which can open additional years of health. Because working on balance exercises many physical systems, challenging yourself often with more difficult balance exercises will not only achieve a better balance, but also enhance basic systems.
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For example, various studies show that people who practice balance are strengthening them attentionand Memory, spatial trendAnd Public perception. “Improving your balance has all the other benefits of health, including the brain,” says Leo Ambrose, says Liu Ambrose.
Liu-ambrose suggests starting one leg, or one leg in front of the other. Do this from the kitchen table with the “finger spot” for additional support, and it is increasingly fixed without a spot. Some people run these shapes easily, but Leo Ambrose notes that it is the ideal challenge for her parents, who are between the ages of 89 and 91.
“Try your leg”. Training balance. Work slowly to integrate balance exercises into daily life. Kaufman recommends the local leg time while cleaning your teeth with brush or navigating while entering socks, underwear and pants. A program In Australia, balance exercises were mixed with life activities – work until cooking on a single leg dinner – preventing the fall between the elderly.
You can also advance to dynamic balance: transforming weight from leg to another in increased exercises. You can walk in Figure 8s. Forward and back. The front steps are followed by side steps, then a Qatari step, then the axis and walking back. Enjoy it – creativity and Spontaneity Carter says that training for the inability to predict life. “You need to prepare for what is unexpected.”
American College of Sports Medicine Recommend Get a few minutes of balance daily or at least 2-3 days a week. “Five minutes here and there can really help,” says Pollard.
Simply exercise or exercise will improve balance. 2018 Ticket I found that the exercise reduced the harmful decrease by 20 %. Kaufman says that one of the reasons is that the heart improves blood flow directly to the brain and facing the rotor.
If possible, though, supplementary fixed air machines and sports movements with additional balance movements to ensure a full arsenal of responses to life transformations and turns.
Brain training
To increase the benefits of balance training, combine it with mental tasks.
People suffer from less fall when they are good in multiple tasks. Even the younger adults In the thirties of life Start losing this capacity. In Seminal TicketThe researchers found that some older adults need to stop walking to focus on the conversation. In subsequent years, the group stopped talking greatly from the walking and speaking group.
Enhancing this connection and the body is crucial in the modern world. Think about the number of times we are going quickly while examining phones – another perfect storm to fall.
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To practice such “cognitive download”, LIU recommends that one leg while counting 7S or clean your teeth with a brush. Or try to walk the 8S shape while reading this article.
“The more new situations you provide to the brain, the more prepared,” says Leo Ambrose.
Advanced movements
Pollard believes that work constantly to improve her balance has enabled her to enjoy full nature. “It is great to stand on your leg for five minutes, but it is a cooler to be able to walk for long distances or climb a mountain,” she says.
You hear from the elderly another benefit from enhancing balance: it excels in the golf game. Vicky Sindrod from Dallas, 74, continued to improve balance in 15 years of Pilates training under Carter. “I hit the ball much further,” she says. “You must be balanced to do so, and do not swing.”
In addition to Pilates, try these advanced moves after working on them:
- Tae Chi. This exercise improves stability and research He appears. He realizes and requires a continuous balance.
- Yoga. Pollard says her customers with yoga wallpapers tend to have a better flesh and body awareness (although the benefits of Tai-Ci balance are more searching).
- Karate Moves. The difficult test of your brightness, which is sometimes used in karate training, is to keep your body sense in space even when you cannot see it. Use the blindfold to make balance more difficult – and make sure that you are surrounded by soft surfaces.
- advice. Balanced on one leg, try Sitting on your outskirts.
- Mix the surfaces. The most stringed softening surfaces for balance. Progress from solid wood to carpet to grass to gravel to different devices such as Treachery panels And foam platforms available on the Internet.
- Throw the ball while on one foot. With the movement of the natural arm, people Dilution While balance. Many hardness can contribute to fall.
Better hearing, better balance
Another decisive factor is Hearing. Remember the role of the inner ear in maintaining balance. Devin Makslan, the hearing scientist at the University of Michigan, says that its machines are separate from parts of hearing, but “the inner ear cannot deal with noise pollution in the modern era-and the excessive shyness of the damage to the parts responsible for the internal ear balance.”
Stephen Lord, the world of applied physiology in Australia’s Neuroscience Research, says that maintaining vision is equally important. If you have multi -foci glasses, “you have an optional disability,” says the Lord, because these glasses are cleansing obstacles at the ground level. he Find Links between poor vision, multi -foci glasses and the risk of falling. Instead, use a single -vision distance glasses when walking outside. “We need to see two steps forward,” says Lord.
He adds that work on flexibility and processing physical pain. Being good and painful “gives the return of mobility”. He had a treatment to reduce back pain. Now, in 67 years, “If I hit an obstacle on my way, I can restore my balance more quickly.”
Kaufman is studying a unique balance of balance in the elderly and Old military warriors with amputation: Put them in harnessing safety on the special mills that move suddenly. By simulating trips, the challenge improves balance more than exercise alone, which reduces the risk of falling 50 %. The Lord found a 60 % reduction On trips and slipping after training the elderly on the besieged corridors.
Remember that life is a budget, and prepare accordingly. “Make it part of the exercise routine with your age,” says Carter.
