Nervous System Rule #2 for Better Balance and Prevention of Falls

The better the input, the better the output.

This is the language of the nervous system and I explain how to put the words together in my new book, "ABCs of Balance: Aging, Brains and Coordination.  A brain-based approach to the prevention of falls".

Education is Power:  
ABCs of Balance Book now available

The nervous system has three functions; input, interpretation and output.  Balance is an output.  If you want better balance, it's only logical that you need to train the inputs.  You cannot jump straight to the end product without addressing the first two steps.

Dr. Rose of FallProof™ introduced me to three sensory inputs and how to train them for improved balance and mobility.  She offered basic vision, vestibular and proprioceptive approaches to reduce falls.  Dr. Cobb of Z-Health taught me how to train these three systems from the brain's perspective and the results are life changing.

The better the visual inputs the better one's balance.  The better the vestibular inputs, the better the one's balance.  The better the sensory receptor input, the better one's balance will be.  Unfortunately, traditional fall prevention programs only focus on outputs. 

If you want better balance, you have to train the vision, vestibular and proprioceptive inputs and the brain's interpretation of them. 

I explain all of this in my new book, "ABC's of Balance: Aging, Brains and Coordination".  If you want to know why your balance is getting worse as you age and what you can do about it, this is a must read.  Everything begins in the brain.  Brain training is the future of fitness.  

Education is power.  Order your copy today. 

Summer's Sizzling Improvements in Woodland Brains and Balance Class

2019 has busy summer for the Fall Prevention Lady!  I've been presenting neuro-balance workshops and teaching brain-based fall prevention classes in local Sacramento communities.   I just completed a four-week Brains and Balance Training session at the Woodland Community Center and senior fitness test improvements were sizzling fantastic!

As you know, I use the only standardized fitness tests for seniors; Rikli and Jones' Senior Fitness Tests, to assess fitness components associated with falls.  Thanks to testing over one hundred seniors for my research study, I ALWAYS measure pre- and post-scores to test the efficacy of the class.  Tests provide OBJECTIVE DATA; numbers don't lie.   Students not only feel better, they SEE the numbers.

Each participant is tested in lower body flexibility, lower body strength, and dynamic balance and agility skills on the first and last day of class.  In my summer Woodland class, there was a tie for most improved.   The tie was between two women; 74 and 73 years old.  

Look at these life-changing numbers:
                                                                   73                                              74
                                                             
Lower body Strength:                 10/16     +6  stand ups               11/15             +4 stand ups
Lower body Flexibility:              0/+5       +5 inches                     -4.25/+1        +5.25 inches
Dynamic Balance & Agility:      8.4/7.3   +1.1 sec faster               6.6/5.4         +1.2 sec faster

AWESOME STUFF!!!!

Translated into normal language, both ladies significantly increased lower body strength.  They built leg muscles standing up and sitting down.  Legs are your fall prevention muscles so this is a big deal.

Both ladies increased lower body flexibility by over five (5) inches!!!  One, can reach her toes for the first time in 30 years and the other can reach five inches past her toes.  This improves their walking gait and eliminates low back pain.

Finally, both ladies can get up and walk quickly and safely around a cone that is eight feet away.  Stronger legs and flexibility in the hamstrings result in quicker movement.  This life saving skill can get a person quickly across the street when the light starts flashing.  Quicker reaction skills and ability to navigate around an object can prevent a fall.  LIFE SAVING.

The senior of the class, my dear 85 year old Audrey, increased in all three components.  She continues to increase her lower body strength, gain flexibility and quicken her reaction speed with each repeat performance.  This session she did increased lower body strength by a sizzling four (4) more stand ups and sit downs.  In FOUR WEEKS!!!

Pain Is Your Brain's Way of Saying Stop

Nothing will stop you from doing the things you love quicker than pain.  In fact, pain has been identified as the biggest obstacle to any behavior change.  For example, no matter how much you want to start exercising, if your knee hurts with every step, you cannot and will not exercise.

In order to understand pain, you must know how the brain works.  The brain is divided into two sections, the "old" brain located in the 'back' of the brain and the "new" brain, located in the front.  The only thing "old" brain is concerned about is your safety.  Is this movement safe?  Is this situation a threat to my safety?

The old brain determines if something is safe through input data from billions of sensory receptors and prior experiences in similar situations.  The old brain is only concerned about survival.  If the old brain does not feel safe, the brain elicits an output; something that will stop you from current behavior so you remain safe and are not killed.   Pain is a protective output of the brain to force a change for your safety.

Please understand that I am in no way diminishing any pain that you feel but rather, I hope to explain pain in such a way that gives you hope; a way out of the misery of dull aching and constant pain.  

Neuroplasticity proves that a person can "train" the input systems and train the interpretation of data to improve prediction and thus improve performance while reducing pain.  The more safe your brain feels, the better your movement and the less your pain.

In a prior blog,  I explained that the nervous system is a loop of input, interpretation/decision, and output.  This constant feedback process determines how we move through life.  Our sensory systems provide data about the environment and the brain (aka, cerebellum) monitors how the body is interacting within the environment.  Based on input data and prior experiences, the brain initiates a motor response.  The quality of the response is determined by the quality of the inputs, speed of interpretation and accuracy and timing of motor response.

If all systems say "safe", movement is smooth, fluid and pain-free.  If prior experiences in same situation were 'safe', movement will be strong.  Conversely, if the brain does not feel safe, the brain's  output is going to be PAIN, nausea, poor movement, decreased strength or flexibility or even a loss of balance; anything to get you to stop what you're doing.

How do you make your "old" brain feel safe?  You practice drills that improve predictive capability. In other words, you practice the Brains and Balance class drills regularly with accuracy and coordination.

The pain theory is outdated.  Listen to your body.  Train your brain.  Don't fall down.
The better the input, the better the output!

The Fall Prevention Lady, aka, Your Neuro-Performance Coach!