How to Improve Your Balance – Balance Exercise For Seniors

Few activities for seniors may cause falling, which is one of the most common causes of fortuitous injury. Such falling can occur due to various reasons such as physical incapacity, social withdrawal, depression, anxiety or functional decline. For seniors who love to enjoy their freedom and want to be socially active, falling and getting injured can be very frustrating to deal with. Well, there is one way which can help you to lower your risk of falling and improve your health is by improving your balance, which declines as a person age. If you have not been active for some time due to fear of falling, well, try it’s time to try some effective balance exercise for seniors.

Five Easy Balance Exercises for Seniors

The five most exercises that you can perform to improve your balance are:

1. Balancing your body on one foot
2. Walk-Pause-Walk (Balancing your walk)
3. Walking heel to toe or toe the line balance exercise
4. Raising leg backwards
5. Raising leg sideways

Read Also: Quick and Easy Meals for Seniors

Let’s learn here how you can perform the above exercises, let start with:

1. Balancing Your Body on One Foot – This is easy balance exercise for seniors. However, if you have any serious medical condition or recently recovering from any injury do not perform it without consulting a physiotherapist. The steps are:
   1. Get a chair and turn it the other way. Hold the upper bar of the chair and try to lift your one foot.
   2. Hold that position for a minimum of 10 seconds to start with.
   3. Repeat it for 10 to 12 times every day with each foot.
2. Walk-Pause-Walk (Balancing your walk) – As the name suggest, you need to walk a few steps, pause by raising your arms for few seconds, walk again and then pause again. The steps are:
   1. Start by raising your arms, try to level them with your shoulders
   2. Take any object such as flower pot or stare at the wall clock and walk slowly seeing nothing but the clock or the pot.
   3. When you pause, try to balance your body on one foot along with arms open sideways.
   4. Repeat for 15 times, don’t forget to alter your arms and foot at every pause.
3. Walking heel to toe or toe the line balance exercise – It’s quite an effective balance exercise for seniors. The steps are:
   1. Line up your foots together back to one another
   2. Now, try to raise your toe of the back foot, while keeping the front foot steady
   3. Perform it for 10 seconds then lift the toe of your front foot.
   4. Make at least 15 to 20 repetitions
4. Raising leg backwards – Raising leg backwards is very effective in lessening back and buttock pain. Steps are:
   1. Get a chair and hold it for balance
   2. Lift your leg backwards and stretch it
   3. Remember to breathe properly whenever you lift your leg backwards and bring it to back to the normal position.
   4. Repeat it for 15 to 20 times, do not overdo it.
5. Raising Leg Sideways – Raising leg sideways helps to strengthen your thighs, hips and buttocks. The steps are similar to ‘raising leg backwards’ just in this you have to move your legs sideways than in the backward direction.

Safety & Precautions to take when doing balance exercises for seniors

Do not perform these balance exercise for seniors in isolation. Always have someone around or take help of a chair (which does not fall) or a table to maintain your balance. As and when you become comfortable with exercises, try to do it all slowly and steadily. However do not overdo it and if you have any medical condition, please consult your physician or physiologist before performing any of the above balance exercise for seniors.