If you’ve ever spun around in a circle until you were too dizzy to walk straight then you understand the role of the inner ear when it comes to balance. But did you know that balance is not just related to this system? It also has to do with your body’s physical capabilities.
Strength Is Important For Balance
As we age, we naturally lose skeletal muscle mass.1 This loss of strength is linked to reduced balance and to a higher risk for falls. The exact reasons are still unclear but it may be as simple as the fact that muscles become too weak to properly maintain posture. Another possibility is a loss of the tiny organelles that sense where your muscles are in space and what they are doing. Or it could be a combination of these and similar factors. The basic idea though, is that your muscles just aren’t doing their jobs as well as they used to.2
Power Is Important For Balance Recovery
This is related to strength. Essentially, in order to recover and avoid a bad outcome when balance is disrupted—such as when you trip and stumble—muscles need to be able to apply force quickly in order to catch up. That’s what stumbling is. It is your foot trying to catch up after getting caught on a stop or some other object. In order to keep from face planting when that happens, the leg needs to be able to move fast and get that foot back where it needs to be. Without good muscular power, you will be too slow and down you’ll go.3
Mobility Is Important For Balance
Your joints have to move through their full ranges of motion in order to stay healthy. When they aren’t doing that regularly, they deteriorate and could even become arthritic. Without access to the full range, your movement has to change which could ultimately lead to less stable postures, especially when walking. Think about how Frankenstein moves, jerking from left to right and seemingly ready to topple at any moment.4
Strength Training Can Help It All
The good news is, strength training can tackle each one of these issues. A proper strength training regimen that works on full body movements through complete ranges of motion and incorporates some power training will improve every one of those metrics. Recent research suggests that may be the best way to reduce the risk of falls. So get off the wobble-boards and pick up some weights!