How good is your balance?
It’s more important than it seems. As we age, our ability to balance and maneuver can mean the difference between steady, fluid movement and a broken hip.
That may not seem like a big deal until you consider that up to 50% of patients with hip fractures die within six months, while many do not recover their original independence and mobility. Staying on our feet and being able to avoid trips and spills could literally save our lives and even extend them.
Researchers have found that certain movements and exercises can improve our balance and hand-eye coordination, among other things.
The Guardian reports on the importance of maintaining our body’s ability to sense movement, action, and location — a sense known as “proprioception.” It’s the key to aging gracefully and maintaining a good quality of life. Here’s the start of the story.
The next time you’re somewhere non-embarrassing, try this quick test: stand on one leg with your arms stretched out to the sides, imagining that one hand is holding a rock. Next, the tricky bit: “pass” the rock overhead to your other hand without putting your leg down, then pass it back, and repeat the whole movement 10 times without losing your balance. Don’t worry if you can’t manage it: that means you’ve got something to work on.
Dan Edwardes, one of the UK’s most experienced coaches in the athletic obstacle-leaping discipline of parkour, calls this the “rock pass” drill – and says it’s one of the simplest ways to check up on your proprioception, or your body’s sense of where it is in space. Sometimes referred to as our sixth sense, proprioception is what helps high-level athletes take a penalty without looking at the ball, or orient themselves in the air while doing a twisting somersault. But it’s also what lets you touch your nose with your eyes closed, push open a door without shoving it too hard, or adjust your gait when you hit an unexpected root on a trail run.
“Any complex movement skill, from jumping to vaulting to climbing, requires a high level of proprioception,” says Edwardes. “Think of adding these moves to your daily movement ‘diet’ to keep yourself strong and functional.” Or, in other words, it’s becoming clear, as our understanding of it improves, that improving or maintaining our proprioceptive ability is key to our quality of life as we age.