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WHAT ISBALANCE?
HEALTH & FITNESS

W hat is balance? It is such a relative term. coordinated effort from joint and muscle sensors

In the new year, balance could mean that feed the brain the proper information so that
eating the right foods. Another would movement can be complete in a balanced fashion.
Many people do not realize all of the body’s
say it is coordinating proper foods with
the right amount of exercise. Yet another just wants interactions that occur in everyday activities. In
plain old balance. Everybody needs balance in each even a simple task like rising from a chair, if the
of the above-mentioned areas but for this month, leg muscles are weak, one may lean far forward
tune in to your balance and perform the activities or swing their arms to gain momentum to stand.
that you desire; this is key to you being confident This compensation goes unrecognized initially. It
and expanding your capabilities. is only when one loses these abilities is the deficit
Balance in the body is when one can maintain recognized. The other time that coordinated efforts
by Paula Allia their center of gravity within their base of support. are evident is when someone does a new task or one
PT, DHSc, MTC, OCS In order to understand this, imagine that you have that is not done to often; for some these tasks are
a square box with equal weight throughout the box. simple and others relatively impossible. The new
In this instance the center of gravity is exactly in the activity may appear uncoordinated but with a little
middle. If you pushed the box slowly over the edge of practice, suddenly the body gets it (like walking
a table, the box would not fall off until more weight with crutches for the very first time).
was over the edge versus on the table. Fortunately Remember that the body is an amazing machine
our bodies are not square but the center of gravity that wants to maintain the ability to heal itself and
for us is thus harder to understand. Typically, if your to participate in movement. System balances are key
center of gravity falls too far outside of your base components to this success.
Balance in the of support, the body cannot sustain the upright If you are lucky, your body has athleticism and

body is when posture and one will stumble and or fall. adaptations to learning new skills are easy. Practice
In most adults, the center of gravity of the can then only make you better. If you are more
one can body is in front of the 2nd sacral level of the spine challenged either by less coordination or from
maintain below the lumbar vertebrae. This is where the an injury or illness, a more concentrated effort is
their center of concentration of weight is, but understand that the necessary to achieve desired success in activities. In
center of gravity may lie outside of your physical both instances, understanding your balance point
gravity within body limits depending upon what positions are will help your body awareness.
their base assumed. If you are top heavy the center of gravity A major cause of not being balanced in an
may shifts upwards. If you are missing a limb, your activity can be a deficit in strength but not
of support. center of gravity will shift towards the side with two strength alone. Once you can strengthen muscles

limbs and up or down depending upon which limb that for some reason have been inhibited and
is missing. Even if a person suffers a stroke or has thus weakened it is then most important for the
paralysis on one side, the center of gravity may shift nervous system adaptively make corrections to stay
away from the weaker side. If this occurs, muscles within your stable base of support to activate and
and ligaments must contribute extra forces to help allow. The key then is for adaptations to become
stabilize you to be successful in a particular position. unconscious but initially a lot of cognitive control
Imagine that if you bend too far forward that your (function) may be necessary.
body cannot use its forces to stay upright; one would In summary, in order to have good balance
fall forward. Thus understanding gravity and center one first needs to strengthen the appropriate
of gravity are key components to being successful in muscles. As the muscles are firing, neuromuscular
participatory actions. reeducation for proper coordination need to be
If a person bends forward, their center of stimulated. Finally, the body can coordinate these
Fitness Together gravity shifts forward. When bending to the side, systems to fire when needed for flawless execution
335 14th Ave South the center of gravity shifts toward that side. The to reach your maximal potential. Most never test
Naples, FL 34102 body, through the nervous system, combined with themselves to know just how much better they can
239.263.9348 visual and auditory input with resultant responses be. A trained eye can help but only if you are willing
FitnessTogether.com/Naples of the neuromuscular system attempt to keep the to do the work.
body in equilibrium and maintain balance. It is a To your Health!

44 Life in Naples | February 2017