Benefits of balance training
Exercise is one of the ways to improve your physical wellbeing and it aids in great measure to get rid of ailments, aches and pains. Follow the exercise programme provided by the biokineticists at Anine van der Westhuizen Biokineticist in George and feel the difference. This week biokineticist Megan van Huyssteen talks about balance training.
Most people take balance for granted. They navigate without thinking, effort, or fear.
For millions of others, balance is a problem. Some struggle with long-term dizziness or imbalance. Others suffer balance-related falls and injuries. A new study concludes that exercise can reduce not only the odds of falling but the odds of sustaining fall-related injuries.
Balance and stability are separate concepts that are highly related. Balance is a person’s ability to control their equilibrium in relation to gravity only, whereas stability is your body’s ability to return to a desired position or trajectory following a disturbance. Therefore, balance can be both static and dynamic, depending on whether the body is moving or not, but it doesn’t come into play when acceleration occurs.
If acceleration is occurring we are talking about stability, as our body needs to respond to the acceleration (whether the force is internal, from our own body, or external, from outside our body) and return to a desired position or course.
Balance and injury
When a toddler or child falls, he or she usually shakes it off and keeps moving. But when an older adult falls, there are often consequences. Broken bones limit mobility. They can also lead to a downward health spiral. Each year, thousands of older adults die as a result of breaking a hip. Broken bones and head injuries can knock confidence, engender a fear of falling, and undermine independence.
Although balance training is the mainstay of fall prevention programmes, any exercise that improves endurance, muscle strength and flexibility can help prevent falls and related injuries.
Benefits of balance
Faster reaction time - This can help you keep yourself upright if you start to fall by putting out an arm quickly to grab something stable.
Improved coordination - This can prevent falls but can also help you roll rather than crash as you go down.
More muscle - Stronger and larger muscles can buffer the impact of a fall, providing some protection to bones and joints.
Stronger bones - Resistance exercises strengthen bones, and stronger bones are more resistant to fractures.
Better brain function - Regular exercise helps maintain brain function with age. Clearer thinking may help you avoid situations that increase fall risk.