Balance Training with a Rocker Board

Last month I showed you the second step in a balance training regimen--the one-legged balance.  You'll want to practice this on its own, as well as with a little challenge, to stimulate your proprioceptive system enough to prepare you for the third step--the rocker board.

Rocker boards can be purchased online or from your local neighborhood (Beverly Hills) sports chiropractor.  A rocker board is a flat surface sitting on top of an angled fulcrum (30 degrees usually).  It creates instability in one plane, either forward/backward, diagonally or side-to-side depending on how the board is turned relative to the person.  Each plane adds a unique challenge to the balancer, and mastering all three planes, both with two legs and on single legs, is necessary to move onto the next level--the wobble board.

Once again, it's important to have a friend challenge you by tossing an object (ball, chainsaw, feral cat) back and forth with you as you balance.  Not only is balancing on one leg a phenomenal challenge, but transitioning from one leg to the other should also prove demanding.  Once you sufficiently master the rocker board, you can graduate to the wobble board or Bosu ball which are unstable in every plane, and thus significantly more difficult.

Proprioceptive training is not only for balance but also for motor coordination, proper weight distribution and core strength; it helps elderly people to prevent falls (which can lead to fractures and even death); it's great athletic training; and it's imperative for rehabilitation from serious injuries.  I encourage everybody to take on a balance training regimen for health and function.

Watch the video below for a demonstration on using the rocker board, as well as tips on how to challenge yourself while balancing.  Keep rocking!

Balancing Exercises Made Easy

A few posts back we discussed proprioception, our ability to know where we are positionally, and our sense of movement. I showed the short foot exercise, which is a powerful precursor to balance training. In this post, I am providing a video to get you started on balance training. By balancing--and constantly being challenged while balancing--proprioceptors become conditioned, and this will help you gain stability, strength and endurance.

A great beginners balancing exercise that comes from yoga is called "tree pose". Watch the video to get an idea of how to do a tree pose, and practice daily. You, can challenge yourself by simply bringing the hands to the chest in a prayer pose. This simple movement will increase the difficulty of tree pose significantly. For even more challenge, you can eventually raise your arms in the air (harder) and start looking up to the ceiling while maintaining the two poses (even harder). Have fun.

Another great balancing exercise is called "one-legged balancing". This is simpler in that you do not have to worry about placing you feet or hands to get into the pose. To challenge yourself you can have a friend throw a ball, keys or any other object for you to catch while maintaining balance. Juggling chainsaws will come later; just master the one-legged balance while being challenged and you'll soon be ready for the next level--the rocker board!

Watch the video to get the best rudimentary exercises for balancing, and thus training your proprioceptive system. Believe me when I say that everything from your athletic performance to your ability to remain pain free relies on it.  Happy balancing.

Short Foot Exercises for Better Proprioception

Proprioception is our sense of where we are in space.  It tells us about relative position of body parts, as well as giving us information about our movements.  Proprioception is essential to how we move, how we are supported, and how we function.  To be free from low back pain and other musculoskeletal injuries, and to be in good shape both require a conditioned proprioceptive sensory system.

This system can become deconditioned from a number of interrelated factors: lack of regular, challenging movement, previous or current injury, significant change in weight or strength, drug use and/or abuse, and chronically tight muscles.

The list above should tell you that many people today are deconditioned in their proprioceptive senses.  From increased computer time (which means increased sitting), to changes in activity type (sports, music, art to more media driven activities like video games and computers), to poor diets and lack of movement, even from our advanced medical care that has people recovering from injuries that at one time my have been game-enders, people today need to think about their proprioceptive condition.

In the next few video posts, I will be discussing and demonstrating excellent exercises for stimulating, and thus conditioning, your proprioceptive system.  Although I usually prefer to give low-tech exercises, I really do think having access to some special equipment will be very useful here. The good news is that many gyms have the equipment you will need.  If for any reason that is not an option for you, you can contact my West Hollywood sports chiropractic office to purchase either a rocker board, wobble board or bosu ball.

Watch the video below for the first instruction on proprioceptive training: the short foot exercise.  You will need to master this to go to the next level.  I would practice the short foot exercise for one week before moving on to the next level.  You will see that by mastering this movement, you will have the foundation for keeping your balance no matter what the challenge.  Learn the short foot and have fun--I'll see you soon for the next level.

Movement and Music Together Improve Balance

Have you ever fallen?  Think it can't happen to you?  Falls are not as uncommon as you might think, and for the elderly they can be a deadly hazard.  But new research shows that balance and movement exercises combined with music do more to prevent falls.  This post is not just for seniors.

One out of every three adults age 65 and older falls each year; and of these, tens of thousands die from injuries sustained from falls.  Almost two million seniors visit emergency rooms every year as a result of falling.  because of these staggering numbers, experts in fall prevention are continuously looking for ways to help the elderly (and others) stabilize themselves.

There are effective ways of training people of all ages to maintain balance, including proprioceptive exercises like rocker and wobble boards, yoga, and other movements.  But now a recent study shows that adding music to these workouts can increase these already powerful practices.

Swiss researchers looked at 134 Swiss adults, mostly women, average age 75.5 years, who were at increased risk of falling. They were assigned to either an intervention group that did a music-based multitask exercise program or a control group that did normal exercises.

The intervention program used an instructor-led one-hour weekly exercise class that featured multitask activities, including movements that were designed to challenge balance and become increasingly difficult over time. These exercises included walking in time to piano music and responding to changes in the music's rhythm.

People in the intervention program showed a greater improvement in balance and had 24 falls (a rate of 0.7 falls per person per year), compared with 54 falls in the control program (a rate of 1.6 falls per person per year).  It increased participants' walking speed and stride length while performing one task at a time, and increased stride length and decreased stride length variability while performing multiple tasks at the same time.  This improvement in gait (manner or style of walking) and balance helped reduce the risk of falls.

Not bad, not bad.  I do balance or proprioceptive training with many of the clients at my Los Angeles sports chiropractic office.  Not only do these exercises prevent falls, but they improve athletic performance, add grace to the gait, and believe it or not, help reduce low back pain (check out the article here to find out how).

So whether you are a chiropractor, physical therapist, or other movement therapist, try adding music to your training program.  If you are just into working out and keeping fit, then do so to the rhythm of your favorite music.  Moving rhythmically to the beat will improve your balance by syncing your proprioceptors, muscles and brain.  Trust me when I say this is the greatest thing you can do for yourself physically.  Balance, in all areas is the name of the game.

Balance Training Prevents Falls

I do lots of balance training with my clients in my West Hollywood chiropractic office. Balance or proprioceptive training prevents falls. You know this--I wrote a post on the subject back in April. But it's so important I'm gonna say it again: Without a properly functioning proprioceptive system, you risk falling; and falls, especially in the elderly, can lead to disability and even death.

So what's proprioceptive training? It's challenging the body by forcing the client to balance, first on two legs, then on one and then on an uneven surface. The uneven surface I use in my office is a rocker board. These boards sit on an arching base, and teeter back and forth like a seesaw. They are quite challenging to the person who has diminished balance, but with work, the results are amazing. Eventually we get the client standing on the surface with one leg, juggling a chihuahua and a chainsaw--it's incredible! OK, we save that last part for our aging circus performers, but if you're ever interested...

Recent studies have shown the mega-importance of balance training to prevent falls in the elderly. But I have to say that I encounter many young people diminishing in their proprioceptive abilities. So it's never too early to start. And aside from preventing falls, good proprioceptive senses help strengthen the low back, combating low back pain and eventually acting as a preventative. Nice.

So if you are unsure whether you need balance training, just stand up now, look straight ahead, and lift one foot off the ground by bending you knee. Was it difficult to hold your balance? If so, then you're a prime candidate. Call your local chiropractor and start your balance training today.

Tango Leads to Graceful Aging

Tango anyone? How about a Jitterbug, Cabbage Patch, or a little Roger Rabbit? No, really--dancing is a great way to keep yourself young. Just ask anyone who cuts it up regularly, and they'll tell you how much dancing helps them keep their youth.

But we now know that dancing--especially the tango--can also help people with Parkinson's Disease stay mobile and maintain balance. So say new findings out of Washington University of St. Louis medical school. According to the study, although dance in general is good therapy for Parkinson's patients, tango specifically helps with balance and mobility due to the nature of the dance, specifically its dynamic balance, turning, initiation of movement, moving at different speeds, and walking backwards.

The study looked at two groups of Parkinson's patients: one that was led through exercise classes, and the other was given tango lessons. The exercise group was given strength and conditioning exercises routine for Parkinson's patients and the elderly, while the tango group was taken through exercises which included stretching, balance exercises, tango-style walking, footwork patterns, experimenting of timing of steps, and dance with and without a partner. The exercise classes included 40 minutes of seated exercise, followed by standing exercises supported by a chair, core strengthening and stretching. Although both groups showed improvement, the tango group showed greater improvement with balance.

Great news and wonderful confirmation for the power of balance work. In the chiropractic profession, we know how crucial balance is to the overall health and well-being of the body. Our sense of balance is integral in many functions including our biomechanics or whether we'll suffer chronic pain or not. Also, having proper balance, especially for the elderly, is essential for preventing falls, which can lead to hip fractures and even death if vital arteries are severed during the break. Many systems contribute to the balance function including the cerebellum and proprioceptive receptors, but it all starts in the feet--and good footwork can only help us keep our balance intact--thus the power of tango.

So everybody, get up to get down...and tango.