Weekly Health Talk with Dr. P: Balance

Good morning guys and gals! This is a balance this is primarily for 50 and above. All right, one of the main things we start losing is balance and well you maybe not even know it but I test everybody for balance because it tells me where they are and their physical makeup and what they can and can't do. Lack of balance, these deterioration posture and such and it's a big deal especially as you start getting maybe 65 and older. And it's, it can be regained without going physical therapy through two or three times a week and somebody working with you if you incorporate this into your routine and it'll fire a lot of muscles. So, we've got, we've talked about some morning squats, here's another thing to add. If you want to test yourself and where you are, take shoes off and test yourself...can you hold your leg up you put your arms out whatever you want to do can you do that for 15 seconds? Alright, get the knee up all right. 15 seconds hold, hold, hold, hold, hold, excuse me 30 seconds I said 15 seconds. I want you; can you do this for 30 seconds? I can and hold a little bit longer than I've been practicing a little bit have to show you guys. Um so 30 seconds with your eyes open without putting your foot down. Each time you put your foot down that's a failure, come back, regain such. If you want to make once you want to heard me keep talking about these glutes man and hips squeeze so if you accomplish that at 30 seconds, good. Now for a 20-year-old and 15 that's nothing. When you get into 50 and 60, that's an accomplishment good you ought to be able to do that, you should be able to do that. Now if you say well okay, I'm fine there well challenge yourself. Knee up, close your eyes this gets tough on me right here because you engage a whole new neurological system when you do this and I'm all over the place I need work but eyes closed, can you do that supposed to be 30 seconds that's it that's hard man um 30 seconds. If you want to even work on your balance even more you never have to leave  you're in the comfort of your home put down a pillow or something squishy then put your leg on that, eyes open on some kind of squishy surface. Balance training, again we're you know this is only a minute to two minutes of your time. Alright so those are gauges of where you should be in your balance world and how and balance can be due to a number of disorders. But there are many of you that can't hold it for five to ten seconds and for those here's the solution. And you know and they're really, you're very nervous and you fall all over the place. Those things need to be regained. I don't have it right now available but back yourself into a corner door or of a room I know you've got corners in your rooms if you take some dirty things off the tv, the wall to use it. But corner we got a corner here. Put your arms out, put your elbows out, tap the corner, tap the corner, tap the corner, but you keep that leg up for one minute. You may have to use the corner to keep you there but you start you'll feel this really in your legs man you can feel these calves just fire and fire fire but keep your elbows out tap tap tap you keep yourself up for one minute you'll feel it. Use the walls, don't fall. You're in a corner, so if you'll use that that's a that's a great way to start regaining and you'll find your taps get less and less. Obviously do it on both legs. But um, back in the corner, in safety, I don't care how old you are to do that because you've got safety of the corner you're not going to fall over and fall  backwards and you try to tap as little as you can but you're holding that up for one minute—balance training. Um, one more thing for you guys maybe 16 above that maybe you're balancing good, we tend to start walking and looking down too much. Um, it's a fear factor it's kind of like walking on eggshells um it's uh in some training at your home, if you want to help train your gait and your balance which our gaits tend to get side to side, especially with back problems, put a piece of masking tape down your hall and start walking the masking tape back and forth. You know, we're talking 70 and above which will really start losing but just start walking that first you look at it at the tape and you watch it you go back and forth maybe do about 10 times then you start walking with your gaze outward where you really can't see your toes or you barely see them. We want to get these we want to get your gaze up for stability purposes so these are little bit tips, little things that you if you incorporate those and that can uh make a big difference in your back and your health. All right, now have a good day.