Balance – use it or lose it

Balance. You know when you have it, and you know when you don’t. You know that feeling of relief when you stumble and catch yourself, phew! No matter your age, putting time into improving your balance is important. 

Keep on reading to learn

• the many benefits of a strong sense of balance

• why we may lose balance

• steps you can take to improve your balance

Benefits of a strong sense of balance

Balance is the ability to maintain your center of gravity over the base of support. Perhaps most importantly is having this ability during movement. All of us, regardless of age and skill, can benefit from better physical balance. There are powerful real-world benefits of better balance. 

A strong sense of balance 

• helps maintain good posture.

• helps with coordination.

• reduces risks of falls.

• improves reaction times.

• increases cognitive function.

• improves proprioception (awareness of where your body is in space).

Factors that cause poor balance

We often take our sense of balance for granted. It can be frustrating to feel like your sense of balance has decreased. In my experience, balancing is one thing that many of my students feel they “should” be able to do. 

Balance is maintained through the coordination of multiple systems within your body. If the function of any part of those systems has decreased it can lead to poor balance. 

A decrease in physical activity can contribute to poor balance. Our bodies want to move and lack of movement certainly has consequences on the body. Lack of movement affects muscle strength and mobility. 

Core strength and good balance go hand-in-hand. Core muscles stabilize us as we move. Improving your core strength has many benefits, with better balance being one of them. I wrote 2 articles on improving your core strength. Check them out here and here. 

Input from the vestibular, visual, and proprioceptive systems all contribute to your balance.  

• Located in your inner ear, the vestibular system detects movement of the head and its orientation in space.

• Visual cues play a key role in balance by allowing you to make adjustments as needed.

• The ability to sense your body and movement in space, or proprioception, is critical to balance. Think of it as spatial awareness. 

If any part of these systems is compromised, due to age or any other reason, then it can affect your balance. 

Tips to improve your balance

Balance is a learned skill, and one we must continue to challenge to improve. 

Step #1 Check to see how well you can balance

You must begin somewhere.  

1. Stand next to a table or chair. 

2. Keep your hand on the support since you don’t want to risk falling.

3. Lift a leg and see how well you can balance on one leg. 

Now you know where to start. 

Step #2 Let go of expectations

The next step is to let go of any expectations or judgments you have regarding how well you balance right now. If you think “I should be able to stand on one leg” or “I used to be able to…” work on letting those negative thoughts go. 

They won’t help you improve your balance. 

But actual balancing will.

Step #3 Build from the ground up

Look at your feet. When you stand is one foot pointed off to the side? Maybe both are. Our feet do their own thing if we don’t pay them any attention.

1. Face the toes dead ahead and have your feet under your hips – this provides a more solid foundation. Really notice how it feels to have this solid foundation. This helps improve body awareness.

2. Keeping a hand on your chair or table, shift your weight into one leg.

3. Keep that standing leg straight and shift the weight into your heel (not so much that you fall backward). We sometimes shift our weight into our toes, which can push our pelvis forward. Don’t grip your toes.

4. Lift the other leg.  Can you feel your hip stabilizers engage? Particularly gluteus medius which stabilizes the pelvis while standing or walking. In my experience gluteus medius needs strengthening. 

When we shift our weight to one leg we sometimes push that hip out to the side. Don’t let that happen. Hug in the standing outer hip – strongly pushing that heel downward helps with that. 

Our body is great at compensating to “help” us out. Keep note of the following.

• Don’t let your low front ribs jut forward

• Don’t stick your butt out

• Don’t let your shoulders move behind your hips – keep them over your hips.

Let your gaze fall to a point and keep it there. Keep breathing. Aim to stay here for a little longer each time.  Repeat on the other side. 

As you improve your balance there are ways to challenge it further. 

• Only slightly touch the chair/table or even slowly lift your hand off the support. 

• Lift a leg higher.

• Change your gaze – look up or even close your eyes. This can dramatically change your balance. (Have a table or chair nearby when you first do this.)

Step #4 Balance as you move

In reality, we rarely hold a static balancing pose for long. Instability happens much more often when we are moving. It’s beneficial to work on balance during movement. 

Now you’ll be shifting your foundation as you reach the lifted leg back into a high lunge. 

1. Keep a chair/table next to you. You’ll shift your weight into one standing leg and the lift the other, just like before. Pause to make sure you’re really pushing into your heel and hugging in your outer standing hip. You want those deep stabilizers working!

2. Keep one hand on the support as you slightly bend your standing knee. 

3. Moving slowly, reach your lift foot behind you 2-3 feet (your torso will lean forward here).

4. Set the ball of the foot on the floor behind you. 

5. The entire time you are pressing into the standing heel and hugging in that outer hip. The front knee can stay slightly bent or can be very bent. 

6. Now slowly shift forward into the front foot. Press into the heel. 

7. Slowly reverse it, bringing the back foot forward until you come to a standing position. 

8. Do the other side. 

The slower you move the more challenging it is. Think slow and smooth. You want to keep those stabilizers working!

All of us can benefit from better balance! Be aware of your foundation as you awaken those deep stabilizing muscles. The key is to start where you are, with no judgment, and move forward. 

Wanna learn one of my favorite ways to strengthen your core? Check out this article.

Sources

Day BL, Fitzpatrick RC. 2005. The vestibular system. Curr Biol. 15(15). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2005.07.053

Dorner, T., Kranz, A., Zettl-Wiedner, K. et al. 2007. The effect of structured strength and balance training on cognitive function in frail, cognitive impaired elderly long-term care residents. Aging Clin Exp Res 19, 400–405. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03324721

Proske U, Gandevia SC. 2012. The proprioceptive senses: their roles in signaling body shape, body position and movement, and muscle force. Physiol Rev. 92(4):1651-97. https://journals.physiology.org/doi/full/10.1152/physrev.00048.2011.

Shumway-Cook A, Woollacott MH. 2001. Motor Control: Theory and Practical Applications. Philadelphia: Lippincott, Williams & Wilkins.

Yaggie, JA & Campbell, BM. 2006. Effects of balance training on selected skills. Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research. 20(2), 422-428. https://unearthyourbalance.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/Instability_18.pdf