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Seniors: How To Instantly Improve Balance & 2 Best Exercises
- chelsie462
- 8 hours ago
- 8 min read
This article is a transcribed, edited summary of a video Bob and Brad recorded in August 2024. For the original video, go to https://youtu.be/7Tn_TbJwmgA
Brad: So I was recently looking at some videos and titles. One caught my eye. It said, "Instantly improve balance with these exercises." I looked at the video, and it could not have been more untrue, but we are going to show the truth here, and we're going to show some exercises. We have some information to help follow through with that.
Mike: We are going to show three guaranteed ways to instantly improve your balance. And if we're liars, it's Brad's fault, and let him know.
Brad: Yeah, well, we don't lie on this channel. This is a family show. We've got excellent information. We're going to follow up with two excellent exercises that do improve your balance as well. Let's get on with it.
Mike: So as we age, typically, our balance will decline, unfortunately. Some common causes of this are weakness. The weaker the muscles, the worse your balance will be, typically. Also, if you have vision loss, losing one of your major senses can really have an impact on your balance.
Brad: Another very common reason that balance is affected is because of neuropathy or loss of sensation from the knees down, particularly in the feet. If you don't have a good feeling for what you're walking on, that feedback is very critical in your balance, and falls and stumbling can be a result of that, and they do. Now, to start out with, we want to show you the best two exercises, and these are from the Minnesota Chapter of the American Physical Therapy Association. They're very simple. You can easily incorporate 'em into your daily life without having to make a whole program and set aside 20 minutes. So let's get to this, Mike. Now, for the first exercise, all you need is a chair. Simply getting out of a chair. Add some repetitions. Mike's going to go through the details, and this is addressing the strength in the legs. Very important.
Mike: So we're just going to do sit to stands. I'll go from easy to harder or more challenging. So, for beginners, first off, try to slide your butt towards the edge of the chair. It's going to make it a lot easier. You can slightly lean forward to get over your center of gravity. Now, if you struggle to get out of a chair, definitely use your arms and stand all the way up. Once you're up, sit, reach back, and be controlled on the way down.
Mike: Now, if that becomes easy, meaning the whole portion of it, no flopping in the chair, try going to one hand. Again, we're just going to push up with one hand and then slowly, controlled, back down.
Mike: Once you can easily perform 10 repetitions of this in a row, I would switch to no hands so you can simply cross over your chest like this. Again, leaning forward makes it easier. Feet back underneath you. Stand up. Again, controlled, sit down. If you notice you flop on the way down with your hands crossed, then reach back when you're sitting for that portion.
Brad: That's right. Again, incorporate this into your daily routine. When you're watching TV, do 10 of these before you start or when you end, and do that two or three times a day. That will make a definite improvement in leg strength. The next thing is hip abduction, and this is the kind of thing, if you find yourself or you see someone else when they kind of waddle walk, it's instability in the hip abductors. This exercise is easy to do. Mike'll demonstrate it with the chair. I'm going to demonstrate it by holding on to the mat table. If you need to work on your balance, you don't feel steady, you can put your fingertips with your hands on the wall. And all we're doing is simply going out to the side and back in with very good control. So we're not rushing through them.
Brad: This works the hip abductor, stabilizes the core, the pelvis, and really helps everything in the full chain from the foot up to the core. Do 10 of these on each leg. Make sure you do both of them. Now, I always have my patients, when they come in, do not touch the floor with that leg. Good control in and back. One big mistake, an error or compensation that people make, is leaning. Oof. And when you do this, you're compensating. The muscle does not get stronger. And Mike, you got any other information?
Mike: Some other things people use is when they kick out, they'll start rotating their foot out to the side, and it's actually a different muscle group, so keep the toe pointed straight ahead. Do not lean over. Try to keep your pelvis neutral. If you have poor balance and are using a chair or countertop, stand behind it. Nice, good posture. And again, just perform 10 reps on each side, nice and slow.
Brad: There you go. Now, if you feel these are very easy, and some people will, you simply need to add some resistance. You can use resistance bands like this and step on them. I have socks on. It works much better off with a pair of shoes on because it kind of grips the band. And then you simply hold this. The lower you hold it, the less resistance. You simply bring these up higher, add resistance, or change the color of the band to a darker color. That's more resistance. Very nice way to work your balance and hip abduction for your hip strength.
Mike: If you happen to have a cuff weight at your disposal, that will work as well.
Brad: Good! So again, that one, it's not so easy to fit into the day like getting out of its chair, but you just do it. It only takes about 20 to 30 seconds, and you can do that two or three times a day. Now, the big moment, we want to show how you instantly improve your balance. Three different options. Are you ready, Mike?
Mike: Yeah, proving you're not a liar.
Brad: Yeah, no kidding. I feel like one of those talk show hosts.
Mike: We are.
Brad: Okay, let's go on. All right, here is what actually can and will improve your balance immediately. It's a little anticlimactic. You may not want to hear it, but it is the truth. It works very well, and it's an assistive device. The first one we've used is simply a cane. It makes a tremendous difference when you find someone who's limping and they've got pain on the right side. I'd give someone a cane in the clinic and say, "Oh, wow, that really helps!" Big smile comes on their face. Oftentimes they say, "Uh, it works, but I don't want to be seen with a cane. I'm not old enough." Blah, blah, blah. Mike, you've run into this, haven't you?
Mike: I've run into this numerous times, and I can say I'd rather see someone walking upright using a cane than limping because we can all tell.
Brad: Or simply having a fall, breaking a hip, and then you need the next step. So this may be an option for many people. The other assistive device commonly used is simply a walker. You have four feet there that are going to stabilize you, particularly if you've injured a foot or you have that really sore hip or knee, arthritis is so bad, and you need to get a replacement, but you just don't know if you want to, or there may be so many circumstances. A walker just works so well; it keeps people upright, and it saves your joints.
Brad: Now, if you want to walk outside, the 2-wheeled walker is probably not the right product for the demand. The four-wheeled walker is wonderful for walking inside or outside. And the big difference is, one, you can walk on uneven surfaces well because the wheels are bigger, and there are four wheels. It's a little faster. And when you get tired, you can sit down in it. They have hand brakes that work well. Now, we're not going to get into all the details of using these, but we're going to talk about where you can learn, and we've got a good video that goes through that. Mike, do you have any other tips for people about these?
Mike: Just find out what works for you. A cane is obviously the least cumbersome and cheapest option. However, if you don't feel steady with that, it may be time to progress to a walker. Again, pick which one suits your needs for your lifestyle.
Brad: Now, if you are at Medicare age and you live in the United States, both of these walkers, I'm not 100% certain how much they cover, but typically, they'll cover one of the 2-wheeled walkers, if you get a doctor's order. So you have to see the doctor. Typically, they're more than happy to give you an order for a walker, so you don't fall or one of these. They typically don't cover 100% of the cost of these, but about 60 to 70%. Now, that may have changed in the last year or two, as that always does, but you know, look into that. Someone will know where they sell these, how much is covered, and what you need.
Mike: And if you want to check out more videos on how to walk, specifically if you have hip pain using a walker or cane, check out our video, "How to Walk With Hip Pain Using A Cane or Walker."
Brad: Now, you can look at this even if you don't have hip pain, it's the same use of the walker, whether or not it's for the hip or whatever, just instability. All right, Mike. That's it. We just gave everyone the best information possible for that title.
Mike: And hopefully we're not liars.
Brad: Of course not. My goodness. We're just not born and raised that way. Have a good day.
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