Taken from our December 2021 newsletter. Sign up below to receive our emails!
At Physiotherapy at Home, we love to help our clients work on improving their balance.
Incorporating balance exercises into your exercise routine is essential, especially as we get older. Balance exercises should be done at least 3 times a week to be most effective but you can do them every day of the week to see even better results!
Can you balance on one leg?
Being able to stand on one leg for 20-30 seconds has been linked to decreased risks of falls and increased levels of physical activity.
Single leg balance integrates information coming from your eyes, inner ears and feedback from receptors in your muscles and joints. Try this exercise below:
Single-Leg Balance:
- stand close to a countertop and hold on for support
- focus your gaze on a fixed point ahead
- lift one foot off the ground and balance on one leg
- if you feel steady, try letting go of the countertop (if you can’t let go, that’s okay, it’s still an effective exercise if you need to hold on)
- stand on one leg for up to 30 seconds
- repeat on your other leg
- repeat 2-3 times per leg, 3-5 times per week
Try to find ways to incorporate this Single Leg Balance Exercise into your daily routine: our clients have told us they do it while brushing their teeth or waiting for the kettle to boil.
You can try it with your shoes on (for more stability) and with your shoes off (for more strengthening of the small muscles in your feet).
We would love to hear from you if you have a specific balance goal you would like to achieve.