Balance Maintaining Techniques

Here are some simple, everyday activities that can strengthen your balance as suggested byHarvard Medical balanceSchool.balance

 Those that love running, tennis, dancing, golf or any number of other sports or activities know that working on balance buffs your abilities. However if you are not an athlete then just walking across the room or down the block may challenge you to have  good balance. The same applies to rising from a chair, going up or down stairs, carrying packages, and even turning around to see who is behind you.

 Good balance helps prevent potentially disabling falls.

 It doesn’t take special fitness classes or exercises to preserve and improve your balance. If you incorporate balance and strength activities into your daily routine that could be enough to keep you from falling.

A research group in Australia tested a simple program called ”Lifestyle integrated Functional Exercise” (LiFE) for a group of 317 people who were  70 and older  and who had fallen in the previous year. The participants were randomly assigned to one of 3 groups: the LiFE program, a control “sham” program of gentle exercises and a structured exercise and strengthening program.

Those in the LiFE program incorporated balance and strength movements throughout their day — for example, walking sideways while carrying groceries from the car to the house, squatting instead of bending over to close a drawer. In other words they conducted their regular day to day routines but in a more careful way. At the end of one year, the LiFE group had  31% fewer falls than both other groups — a total of 172 falls, in comparison with 193 in the structured exercise group and 224 in the control group. People in general were  more likely to stick with the LiFE program than with either of the other two programs. A good way to incorporate balance exercises into your daily routine is to try standing on one leg while talking on the phone or sitting down in a chair without using your hands.

 Another  solution to learning balance is accomplished through the use of the LEGTUTOR and 3DTUTOR. These and their sister devices (ARMTUTOR, HANDTUTOR) are part of a recently developed set of physical therapy products created to assist patients recovering from stroke, brain/spinal cord injuries, Parkinson’s, MS, CP and other upper or lower extremity limbs that became disabled. The TUTOR system consists of ergonomically designed gloves and braces placed on affected limbs and contain sensors to dedicated exercise software containing challenging games. The exercises are monitored by physical or occupational therapists who then design a customized exercise program for that patient.

 For the balance training individual the LEGTUTOR and 3DTUTOR are placed on one of the legs and the individual begins to play one of the games such as ”darts” while standing on only one leg. Then the device is placed on the second leg. In this way the leg muscles are strengthened and balance is maintained.

Currently in use in leading U.S. and European rehabilitation hospitals and clinics the TUTORs are fully certified by the FDA and CE. They are available for adults and children from the age of 5 and up and are functional at home through telerehabilitation.

 See WWW.MEDITOUCH.CO.IL for further information.