Balance…the key to good movement and good health

Every step walking or running is a one legged balancing act, and how well you manage each step is dependent on good balance!

Good balance, in every day activity and sport, is dependent on footbed sensory nerve activation, primarily called proprioception, so, whether you are;

• running to catch a train
• playing a running based sport
• walking up or down a flight of stairs, or
• carrying a tray of drinks…

…it’s true to say that good balance is essential in helping you achieve your goals safely and efficiently…and not spilling the drinks of course!!

Balance and Health

Balance is also strongly tied to health; several studies have shown that good balance can increase your lifespan, and conversely bad balance has been shown to be an early indicator of brain deficiencies like Dementia and Alzheimer’s.

Dr Michael Mosley highlighted the connection between bad balance and  dementia in a widely published newspaper article. He said ” having good balance is a powerful predictor of dementia, as well as how long and healthily you will live”! Read the full article here; https://www.pressreader.com/uk/the-mail-on-sunday/20190407/282634623990322

It is clear that by improving our balance we improve our ability to safely and efficiently perform daily tasks, improve sporting performance, reduce our risk of fall-related injuries and improve our health and general quality of life. click to learn more; https://www.psychologytoday.com/gb/blog/the-athletes-way/201309/fear-falling-creates-downward-spiral

The Facts about Falls in the UK

• Injuries caused by falls cost the NHS about £450 million a year.
• About a third of all people aged over 65 fall each year, with higher rates among those over 75.
• Falls represent over half of hospital admissions for accidental injury, particularly hip fracture.
• Half of those with hip fracture never regain their former level of function
• One in five die within three months.
• Of those older people who enter falls prevention programmes, most do so only after they have fallen, by which time they may have suffered serious consequences.

An Expert view

Click here to listen to Stuart from All About Balance interview with Dr Jake Cooke, a leading Neuro- Chiropractor who specialises in balance related problems. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U42tgx3G3TA

How do Humans balance?

Balance is controlled by three things;

• Our eyes focusing on a fixed point
• A part of the inner ear called the Vestibular
• A nervous system called Proprioception

The tests and exercises we use are geared towards assessing and reducing inefficiencies in balance by improving Proprioception. So the question is…what is Proprioception?

Proprioception and what it controls;

Proprioception, described in Wikipedia as the Sixth Sense, is a system of sensory nerves, embedded in muscles, joints, tendons and fascial tissues all over the body. They create reflex responses to movement.

Taking the foot as an example, we have approximately 200,000 proprioceptive nerves in each foot, and when we walk or run we load weight in to each foot as it makes contact with the ground. This load deforms the tissues, which in turn alters the proprioceptive nerve receptors, creating reflex responses in other parts of the body to;

• absorb shock on landing
• activate the ‘stretch reflex’ = injury avoidance
• provide stability
• create spatial awareness
• improve balance, and
• encourage good muscular skeletal alignment.

• Spatial awareness
• Symmetrical muscle activity
• Balance
• The stretch reflex (our injury avoidance system).

Improve balance with every step

Our simple balance and gait tests, or our more technical gait assessments, are equally efficient ways to gather information about proprioceptive efficiency and body movement symmetry. Furthermore, the use of high tech gait analysis systems such as Optogait, enables us to assess gait and movement then improve them, in real time using visual biofeedback.

Through enhanced proprioceptive stimulus at the feet provided by BarefootScience patented insoles, and with simple exercises and brain (or cognitive training), the body will learn how to become balanced, symmetrical and self-supportive once again, putting you on a course to a happier, healthier life.

How do we test balance?

At All About Balance we assess static balance through some simple tests that in themselves become the initial training to improve balance.

Testing Balance the low tech way

First we start with a static balance test;

1. Stand on one leg with eyes open and simply count (in seconds) how long you can do this before placing your non-standing foot down.
2. Then repeat the test with eyes closed.

Any change in ability between the two is directly related to your proprioceptive ability, and any asymmetry (difference between left and right leg) is the most likely cause of injury and inefficiency.

The addition of a 15-20 degree Slant board to challenge the body with the feet and ankles placed in different positions while standing on one leg offers further evidence of proprioceptive deficiencies.

Retesting the client after they walk 300 steps wearing Barefoot Science insoles reveals the benefits they provide.

As I pointed our earlier, walking and running are a series of one leg balancing acts – a person with good balance will have better symmetry in their gait and a person with poor balance will not.

Now let’s go high tech

Dr Peter Gorman, Chiropractor and President of Microgate USA is the developer of a protocol using Optogait infared temporal spatial gait analysis system to identify and correct gait imbalances (asymmetries), and deficiencies in balance through the gait cycle while in dynamic movement.

In an attempt to find ways to reduce these harmful asymmetries he assessed patients barefoot and shod, and before and after the inclusion of various orthoses. He found that Orthotics changed some of the data in gait parameters, but they did not reduce critical asymmetries in load response or contact time! This is of significant importance;

Recent research (Joubert et al) has shown asymmetry in contact time to be the greatest cause of injury, and the most significant indicator of running and walking inefficiency;

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7241633/

Step forward Barefoot Science insoles

Having found that Orthotics did not reduce asymmetries in these critical gait parameters, Dr Gorman then discovered Barefoot Science insoles and tested patients in them in the same way.

Dr Gorman has found, in nearly 3000 cases, Barefoot Science creates significant and progressive improvements in balance, and reductions in asymmetries in the gait cycle.

He states that in those case studies every client received a pair of Barefoot Science nerve-stimulating orthotics “to aid their proprioceptive enhancement”. He goes on to say “with increased balance and proprioception, you will be on the road to optimal performance”.

See Proprioceptive stimulation at work with Barefoot Science:

His methods consist of 4 steps:

Step 1. Analysis

Walking in the Optogait system objectively measures the gait parameters to see exactly how symmetrical they are. First, we get a baseline by walking with shoes off, and then again with shoes on. Comparison of the two will show us how effective your footwear is in reducing asymmetries. We establish which shoes are best for you.

Step 2. Intervention

We add Barefoot Science insoles to your shoes. Barefoot Science is a unique insole with 7 different levels of insert designed to progressively improve dynamic balance control and reduce gait asymmetry through mid-arch stimulation, slowly but steadily strengthening your arch over time. On the first visit, you will begin at insert level 1, and you will move to higher levels as your balance and proprioception improves.

Step 3. Re-Test

This step ensures that improvements are not only being made, but are being properly learned by the brain and body. With Barefoot Science insoles in their ‘best’ shoes, the client walks on the treadmill at a comfortable pace in what Dr Gorman calls “the 2nd Screen of Optogait“. The 2nd Screen allows you to see the asymmetries for any gait parameter in real-time as you walk, enabling you to make minor adjustments to reduce any imbalances you may have. In this way, you can strengthen the neural pathways required to keep you walking in perfect balance.

Step 4. Practice

For lasting improvements you should continue to improve your balance by working on the same static balance ‘low tech’ tests you performed. ie; stand on one leg, and see if you can hold your balance for 15 seconds – if you cannot, you must practice until you can.

Once you are able to hold balance for 15 seconds on each leg you can move on to harder levels;

• eyes closed,
• standing on a foam pad eyes open,
• standing on a foam pad eyes closed,
• standing on a bosu ball eyes open,
• standing on a bosu ball eyes closed, and so on.

You should not progress to harder levels until you master the more basic ones for at least 15 seconds.

Stronger with every step

By routinely monitoring and improving your balance, you will open yourself up to increased functionality and a happier, healthier life. So don’t just walk, walk therapeutically in Barefoot Science insoles, reducing asymmetry and increasing balance and proprioceptive ability, making you stronger with every step.

Finally, it is important to recognise that balance can be easily trained and enhanced at any age, without the need for visits to a gym or special exercise classes, but simply with the addition of Barefoot Science insoles in as many pairs of shoes as possible…strengthening your feet and improving your balance with every step.