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All About Balance
Dr. Ken Sheridan
Issue 24 (July 2007)
Colorado Runner
My eyes were the size of Grade "A" Large eggs as I looked out
over the front wheel of my mountain bike and... it was no longer there!
Too slow to react and get my front wheel over the ledge in front of me,
too slow to go around it, too slow to find a soft place to land!
My tuck and roll wasn't perfect, but it was enough to save me from skinned
palms or a broken collar bone. It did get me thinking about balance and
how it's a lot like the ability to breathe - it doesn't seem very important
until you lose it.
Balance is the ability to maintain our center of gravity (my gut) over
our base of support (my mountain bike tires - both of them). Failure to
maintain balance causes you to lose the "rubber side down" goal
of most cyclists and usually results in antiseptic cream and bandages.
Understanding Balance
There are two types of balance: static and dynamic. Static balance
refers to that of a stationary object, like standing still. Dynamic balance
refers to the balance of a moving object, like leaning into a turn on
your bicycle. This often differs from static balance, as evident when
you lean into a turn and have to stop suddenly. We all know what happens
when we fail to clip out of our pedals - antiseptic cream and bandages.
When we run (dynamic process), our center of gravity is placed in front
of our bodies as we lean forward. We place our foot out (base of support)
to keep us from falling on our faces, and repeat the process. Failure
to get our foot out far or soon enough, like when it comes in contact
with a tree root, again leads to antiseptic cream and bandages.
The three systems involved in balance are the visual, proprioceptive
and vestibular systems. Our visual system constantly anchors us in
space by comparing our head position to the solid structures in our surroundings.
As we age, our visual system plays a more active roll in balance. Our
proprioceptive system refers to small sensors present in our joints that
constantly give and receive information to and from our brain. These sensors
allow us to close our eyes and touch our noses. The proprioceptive system
can be adversely affected by joint stiffness brought on by tight muscles
(not enough stretching).
The last system is the vestibular system, which is made up of a system
of canals in our inner ear that relay head position and motion sense to
our brain. This system is adversely effected when we spin around in circles
and get dizzy (thereby losing our balance). The vestibular system is considered
the absolute reference system, resolving conflicts between the visual
and proprioceptive systems. I should mention that none of this matters
when you're hurtling over the handlebars!
These three systems work at three different levels of balance control.
Steady state control helps us maintain safe standing and sitting postures.
Anticipatory postural control helps determine foot placement while running
based upon many factors including speed, cadence and visual cues in regards
to the terrain. Finally, reactive postural control helps us recover from
unexpected, unanticipated forces, like losing our footing.
Progressive loss of balance, like so many things, occurs with age. Reduced
physical activity and loss of muscle strength also play large roles in
this. You may have noticed that endurance athletes that specialize in
road racing have slighter builds than their trail running counterparts.
This is because trail running requires the use of more stabilizing muscles
than running on flat, even terrain. This causes the legs to be a bit more
bulky.
Balance Exercises
Try this: stand on one foot with your other knee raised to 90 degrees
in front of you. Now hold for 30 seconds. If you are able to maintain
your balance for the entire time, then close your eyes and try again.
Switch legs and try again.
Balance retraining is easy to do and requires no equipment, it just takes
practice.
A good foundation for balance training
is strength training. Strengthening your hip muscles creates a stable
platform upon which to begin balance training.
Static balance training will help with balance recovery on stable
surfaces. Use the test presented above until you can maintain your single
leg stance, eyes closed, for a full minute.
Dynamic control is more involved, and can be more fun. First of
all, if you road bike or spend all your time running on roads, get in
the dirt! Trail running and mountain biking challenge your balance to
a much greater degree, while giving you the same endorphin release you
feel doing it on the roads. While on the trails, alternate focusing
on objects that are near (5-10 feet away) to far (beyond 40 feet away).
This will help stimulate your visual system.
Dynamic balance can also be practiced by tandem (heel-toe) walking, walking
backwards and walking sideways. You can increase your challenge by increasing
your speed. Another way to practice dynamic balance is to place a number
of objects on the floor in a half circle from your left side to your right,
about three feet out from your feet. Standing on your right foot, bend
over and pick up the first object, lifting your left leg in the opposite
direction as a counterbalance (see figures 1 & 2).
As stated earlier, balance is something we seldom think about until we
lose it. Practicing balance will not only prevent injuries, it will
make you a stronger athlete in the long run (sorry, I couldn't resist).
Dr. Ken Sheridan is a certified chiropractic sports physician who specializes
in sports injuries at Active Care Chiropractic and Rehab in Golden. He
can be reached at 303-279-0320.
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