How To Improve Your Balance

One of my clients asked how to improve her balance this week. It’s a pretty common question so let’s talk about how it works and how to improve it.

Our bodies work in amazing ways every second of every day and how we stay upright is one of those ways. Our body has things all over it called Proprioceptors. It’s their job to sense movement, action, and location. In other words, how and where to move without falling over and/or hurting ourselves. You know the difference in how it feels to take a step off a sidewalk when you don’t realize it’s there versus when you do.

That’s because when you know the sidewalk is there, the proprioceptors let your brain know how to react to it without hurting yourself, the brain gets the message to your muscles and nerves, and your body reacts accordingly. That happens countless times in mere milliseconds all day long.

The body is truly a fantastical thing.

So, let’s talk about how to improve and/or maintain balance.

1. Get your proprioceptors working better. One thing I’ve noticed is that the more people are attached to their shoes and the softer the soles on those shoes are…the worse their balance tends to be. That’s because fluffy soles don’t allow the proprioceptors in your feet to work very well. Think of it like wearing gloves all the time. How well would you be able to use your hands?

What do we do about it? Take off your shoes. Start gradually and work to going barefoot more and more. Let your feet work! They’ll appreciate it.

2. Get stronger. Once your muscles get the signal to do something, they’ve got to be strong and quick enough to do it. That takes strength and power and that takes strength training.

3. Get more confident. This one’s a mind-bender. According to a 2019 “International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health” study, the biggest risk factor for falling is fear. In other words, the more fearful someone is of falling, the more likely they will fall. Talk about a self-fulfilling prophecy! How do you get over that fear? Physical activity.

4. Stand on one foot while barefoot This is my favorite exercise for improving balance. Simple, huh? Start with 5-10 seconds per foot and build up. You can do this every day.

I hope this helps clear up a complicated topic just a little bit. Let me know if you have any questions or want to see that study. I’ll send you the link.