BALANCE & AGE
Proprioception is the ability to sense where your body is in space. It involves position, movement, and balance. Today, I’m going to focus on balance and why that skill gets more important as we age.
What is Balance?
We all want to balance our checkbooks. But balance from a fitness standpoint means keeping our body steady so we don’t fall. Our balance tends to decline as we get older. Let’s look at why that happens.
Balance and Your Inner Ear
Your inner ear contains your vestibular system, three tiny fluid-filled semicircular canals that sense your head’s position in space. This system helps you detect position with motion and maintain balance. Unfortunately, the vestibular system starts to break down as we age.
Balance and Vision
Our depth perception and eyesight can become impaired as we get older making it harder to navigate any obstacles.
Muscle Mass
Your muscle mass starts to decline after age 30 and accelerates after age 60. Loss of core strength can make maintaining balance more difficult.
Health Conditions
If certain health conditions like heart disease or diabetes are not well controlled, they can cause issues with keeping your balance due to changes in blood pressure or heart rate.
How Can You Work on Balance?
These tips will help you maintain balance as you get older.
Strength training. Doing strength training, especially resistance training, twice a week can help maintain muscle mass and improve balance.
Exercise. Activities like walking, yoga, and tai chi can improve balance.
Vision. Make sure you get your vision checked regularly.
Manage any chronic health conditions. Keeping any chronic health conditions well-controlled and carefully managing medications helps with balance as we age.
Working on these aspects of your health can help prevent falls, one of the leading causes of injury and death as people age.
If you’d like to work on strength and resistance training through the Pittsburgh Fitness Project, please set up a fitness assessment through our Get Started page on our website.