How’s Your Balance?
It’s an ability and skill often taken for granted. It affects quality of life and has been linked to heart disease and stroke. As we age and our muscles weaken, balance becomes crucial to staying active and supporting a healthy heart and brain.
“Balance is important because it’s one of the attributes that allows you do to physical activity,” said Dr. Kelley Gabriel, a professor of epidemiology and associate dean at the University of Alabama at Birmingham School of Public Health. “Everything you do involves some level of balance – standing at the sink, mopping, walking the dog. It’s embedded into almost every single activity.”
According to federal physical activity guidelines, balance training should be part of the weekly exercise routine for older adults to help prevent falls, another frequent problem for stroke survivors. Such exercises include walking backward, standing on one leg or using a wobble board. Use caution and work with a coach or training partner if needed. Activities that strengthen the back, abdomen and legs also improve balance, the guidelines say.
Excerpted from the American Heart Association
