There was a great article in last week’s Wall Street Journal on balance. One of the big dangers of getting older is falling. We’ve all heard about elderly people who’ve fallen and broken a hip and then are hospitalized and immobile. I’ve written before on the importance of movement for maintaining brain health. A fall can quickly become a life threatening event. If you can’t move, both your body and brain suffer. Knowing this I was still surprised at the following statistics from this article: “In the U.S., falls are the leading cause of injury for people over 65, according to a 2005 report by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Every 17 seconds, someone in this age group is treated in an emergency room for a fall. Every 30 minutes, one will die from injuries caused by falling.”
But, you say, I’m in my 30s (or 40s, or 50s). I don’t really need to worry about this yet. According to this article “[a]n important age range for improving balance is the 30s and 40s. While most people don’t develop serious balance problems until well into their 50s, experts recommend that otherwise healthy people keep active and do simple exercises to challenge the body and keep steady into old age.” The article goes on to talk about the 3 important systems we use to maintain balance: the visual, the vestibular and the proprioceptive. If you’ve been coming to Forza! for any length of time, you’ve heard me talk about these systems and have learned the resets and other exercises we do to maintain or improve these systems. The addition of the Surfset Fitness Boards has provided another method to work on balance in a challenging and fun way.
So for you Forza! clients out there, keep showing up for class knowing you are doing great things for your future selves. But don’t stop there. Invite your friends and family to join us. Tell them how important they are to you and how you want to enjoy many more healthy and active years with them. Tell them they need balance training in their lives. Tell them Forza! can help.