Better Balance

We all need balance in our lives, but today I'm going to talk about the balance we need to keep from falling and injuring ourselves. As we get older, the risk from a fall is a fracture and if we don't get our arm or shoulder, we will very likely get our hip. Hip fractures can be lethal at any age, but particularly for people over the age of 65.

So there are some simple ways to improve balance. First is standing on one leg. Hold on to the back of a chair the first time you do this. Balance for a count of 15 and switch legs. Try not to wobble but to stand as steady as possible. The next step is to stand on one leg without the assistance of the chair. Start for a count of 5 and begin increasing that until you are able to stand for the full count of 15 without using the chair and without being overly wobbly. The next step is to close your eyes while you do this. I would definitely recommend that you keep the chair with you but see how long you can go without it. The longer you go the better your balance the less likely you are to fall and break a hip or an arm.