A Balancing Act That’s Important to Your Health

I read an article recently that made me jump out of my chair . . . no it wasn’t a notice that I won the Master’s lottery and would be going to Augusta to watch the golf tournament next year. It was an article about a recent study that said if you can balance on one leg for 10 seconds it’s an indicator of your overall health. So, before you jump up, here’s a picture of how you stand to take this simple test. I tried it immediately, both with and without shoes, it didn’t seem to make a difference. I did find that I did better if I stood on my dominant foot. I’m right footed, but you are allowed to use either leg. You can take three tries to successfully complete the test. The thing that really grabbed my attention was the statement that, “The inability to stand on one leg for 10 seconds might indicate an increase in the risk of death within the next decade.” Now that seems like an ominous prediction for a simple test but the study (click here to read about the study in more detail) seemed thorough and legitimate. The fact does remain that as we age, our flexibility and balance diminish. Balance begins to be more difficult beginning in our 50s and can quickly go downhill. According to the World Health Organization problems with balance increase the risk of falling, which is troubling as falls are the second leading cause of unintentional injury deaths worldwide. More than 37 million falls are severe enough to require medical attention each year.

Now I’m a few years past 50, OK, I’m a few years past 70, but I have never had a balance check at any of my physicals. I’ve pressed my hands and legs against the opposing pressure from the doctor and the doctor has tested the strength of my grip, both important tests of physical health, but no one has tested my balance. The authors of this balance study recommend that this balance test be included when the doctor evaluates the overall health of a patient over 50.

I will reveal that I passed the test but found it harder than I thought it would be. I guess this goes along with the realization that I don’t get up off the ground as easily as I used to and my wife’s insistence that I don’t go up more than three rungs on ladders. I’ve also lost distance on my drives when I golf. My son says that it’s because my core strength isn’t as strong as it used to be. In doing some further research I found that core strength is directly related to balance, the stronger the core, the better the balance. For me, taking a little more time to get up off the floor, or not climbing too high on a ladder are not big problems, but when I lose distance when driving a golf ball – now you have my attention. If strengthening my core muscles will increase my driver distance and, as an added bonus, keep me from falling, then sign me up. My next question is how do you do it?

A little more research and advice from my son pointed me toward doing “planks.” I didn’t do those in high school gym class but evidently, they are the way to strengthen your core muscles. A plank is a simple, but effective core exercise that helps you build stability and strength throughout your entire body. The plank is achievable in a number of different ways, but the main position of the plank exercise is with your body perpendicular to the ground, stomach facing down, elevating your torso off the ground with either your elbows or hands. This will position you as if you were stuck in an extended push-up pose without actually moving your body weight up or down. This may sound much nicer and more forgiving than a set of push-ups, but the plank can become a strenuous exercise very quickly as you continue to hold that position. You can go online and find a multitude of different types of planks. An excellent article I found talked about how the plank helps build core strength, the benefits of doing them and some variations that can further build strength. You can find that article here.

As mentioned above, the exercise can become very strenuous and may not be the best way to exercise our core muscles as we grow older. Luckily there are other ways to build these muscles that will fit all levels of mobility. Remember, the goal here is to improve your core muscles and therefore your balance. It doesn’t matter where on the range of muscle strength we start, it only matters that we do something that makes our core muscles stronger.

I found a place that offers some great non-plank core muscle exercises for older adults. It’s on the SilverSneakers web site. Click here for these non-plank exercises. These are great exercises that help you improve no matter where you start on the strength spectrum.

One of the great things about all these exercises is that they don’t require special equipment or a membership to a gym. They just require some time and effort. It will be time well spent. Whether you passed the 10 second test or not, it’s worth doing the exercises just to improve your balance. How many times have you heard that an older person fell and broke their hip and died a short time later. It happened just like that with my mother in-law. Maintaining your balance is a great way to keep yourself healthy and it might even help your golf game.

Best, Thair