http://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=parkour+videos&view=detail&mid=7C5CB5230C198F215DED7C5CB5230C198F215DED&FORM=VIRE1
The video is super cool and fun! The balance required to do this is out of this world!
So I’ll bring us back to reality…
Balance… Great Tips On How To Create Stability
Stability is a necessity for all populations. Whether your old or very young having good balance improves your ability to play sports, run faster, reduce incidence of injury and help prevent falling, especially in older populations.
First let’s define balance…. It’s an even distribution of weight enabling someone to remain upright and steady through a variety of environments and while performing task. There are many theories and approaches to improving ones balance. Many health professionals use a variety of modalities to accomplish this. Some of these modalities include, but are not limited to wobble boards, bosu balls and balance pads.
I’m going to let you in on a secret….
Before you jump on any of these modalities you should have a thorough health history taken and go through a functional movement screen first! These two things will narrow down and clue you and the health professional into what’s causing a balance related problem.
Think about it, there are so many things that can affect your balance, for instance, ear problems, poor vision, previous injury, poor attention/concentration skills and poor gross motor skills. All of these and more are crucial factors that need to be looked at before you can put a success plan into place for improving balance. If the healthcare professional you choose to work with automatically assumes that it’s purely a strength issue or lack of proper gross motor skills without the mentioned assessments, find a new health professional. This approach could easily lead to injury and a poor outcome.
Here are some great tips to follow:
- It’s extremely important that you first make sure that your body can perform proper gross movements and that your nervous system is communicating with all muscles/joints within appropriate norms…. These norms are commonly affected by the lack in mobility due to myo-facial restrictions, poor muscular communication or from previous injury. If any of these things are not within normal ranges corrective actions need to take place before starting a balance exercise program.
- Proper balance exercise progression… Do not just climb on to bosu balls; wobble boards and other balancing modalities. The balls and wobble boards are very advanced and could easily cause injury. You should be able to manage your own body weight performing ground based exercises first before advancing to more complex modality exercises.
- Avoid weight machines…Using weight machines requires no motor skills, the machines do all the stabilizing for you and isolate muscles. While playing sports or performing activities of daily living you do not have a machine supporting you. Your muscles and nervous system do not work in isolation. They need to be challenged in the appropriate environment and should also be age appropriate to create positive change.
- Make sure the balance exercise prescription challenges you in all planes of motion…. Planes of motion are: moving from front to back, side to side and rotation (twisting). Your daily environment is dynamic and performing exercises that challenge you dynamically with the proper progression is critical.
- Use free weights, dumbbells, medicine balls, bands and Kettlebells…I do recommend that you work with or receive consultation from a Nationally Certified Health Professional before using this type of equipment. Improper use can quickly turn into injury. These are the best tools to use after mastering body weight exercises. These modalities can be used to create hundreds of exercises and exercise variations that closely mimic sport movements and dynamic environments.
Make sure that the exercises you perform are skill level and age appropriate. Having poor balance doesn’t just affect old people; it affects all age groups. Make sure if you work with a health professional they have Nationally Recognized certifications, education and experience. Ask for references, current and past clients.