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Staying Balanced
October 28, 2009 |
From the moment we wake up until the sun goes down, there’s a lot of activity going
on inside the body. “In order to have good balance, we have to have good strength,
flexibility, coordination, body awareness, and awareness of our environment,” says
LMHS physical therapist, Nathalie Grondin.
She adds our balance is an essential part of our everyday life. “The eyes, the inner
ear, and feet have to work together, in unison, to give information to the brain
and then the brain has to give information back as output, as a reaction, there’s
just so much going on with balance,” explains Grondin. That’s why it’s important
to keep our balance in check.
One way is through strength therapy. “There’s many ways a person can get stronger.
One simple exercise is sitting to standing without the use of your hands. Many people
become reliant on their hands as they hare having a little bit of trouble.” Then,
there’s flexibility. Grondin has an easy remedy. “Get out of that seating position.
That is the worst thing we do in our society, we stay sitting all the time.” Finally,
coordination. “Drawing the alphabet on the floor with our feet. It doesn’t look
like much, but it takes a lot of coordination.”
The Balance Clinic at Lee Memorial Health System has various exercises to help people
keep and retain their balance, no matter what the age.
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