ABCs of Balance: Can't Feel Your Feet?

If you can't feel your feet, you may have a nerve problem.   Because the nerves of the feet go to the brain, you may now have a brain problem.  Everything begins in the brain; and I mean everything; all movement, all feeling, and all thoughts begin in the three-pound organ on top of your head.

The brain is quite fascinating and in it are maps to the entire body.  Messages from the brain are sent to the body parts. The brain has maps so it knows where everything is located.   Maps are like highways; the more a road is travelled, the faster you can go.  No doubt about it, practice makes perfect.

Most of us have had at least one injury.  When an area is injured, we're told not to move it. The longer a body part doesn’t move, the blurrier the map of that body part becomes. Blurry maps make the brain feel unsafe.  When the brain doesn't feel safe, movement suffers.

Your feet are critical to good balance. The brain needs good mapping of the feet for good movement and balance.   The bad news is we rarely move our toes and feet and hardly ever provide sensory stimulation to them. As a result, the brain's map of the feet is blurry.

I'm certain that there are millions of undiagnosed cases of neuropathy (nerve damage) in feet and legs because people think that burning, tingling and loss of sensation in the feet is a 'normal part of aging'.  FALSE!  Healthy nerves do not tingle. Healthy nerves need activation. You need to rub and move your feet and toes regularly.

Some nerve damage is permanent but the science of neuroplasticity shows that nerves can and will regenerate!  Get hopeful.  Move your feet.  Rub your toes.  Pay attention to how your feet feel.  Book a session with me for some sensory stimulation.

I am an input, interpretation and output specialist.  I train the sensory inputs to the brain to improve the brain's ability to interpret the information and decide what to do.  I also train body movement but if you want to move better, let’s start with the inputs.

It's how the nervous system works.  It's science.  Sensory input training can change your life.

This blog is an excerpt from new book, ABC's of Balance: Aging, Balance and Coordination.  A brain-based approach to the prevention of falls.    I will be ready the first week of June!   $29 paperback, $29 Kindle.

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Feel weak? Stand up.

Lower body weakness is the #1 cause of falls among the older adult population.  Because of that, I call your legs your "fall prevention muscles".  If you want to react quicker to imbalance, if you want to walk straight and feel stable when standing, if you want to prevent a fall, you need to strengthen your leg muscles; both upper and lower leg.

The easiest way that has been proven to make your legs stronger is to do a 'chair stand'.  Simply stand up then sit back down.  No fancy equipment, no grueling routine, simply stand up and sit back down. It's suggested you cross your arms on your chest but if you need your hands to stand up, try pushing off with one hand.  If you can't do that, use both hands.

The next thing is to find out how many you should do.  I use the Senior Fitness Test and have people stand up and sit down as many times as they can in 30 seconds.  That might not seem like a long time until you're doing it!  Do as many stand up/sit downs as you can.  Write that number down and that's how many you do each day.  It doesn't have to take you 30 seconds but when the last one is as easy as the first, do another.

I just finished my first four-week brain-based balance training session at The Heritage in El Dorado Hills and this group got stronger!  Six out of nine people (two were not in class) did three more chair stands in their 30-second post-test.  Three more chair stands in 30 seconds.  These are healthy older adults living in the community, living in their homes, wanting to stay in their homes.

Three more chair stands might not sound like a big deal but until it's you doing it!  These people worked hard and increased lower body strength while improving center of gravity awareness in four short weeks.   Huge improvements for the prevention of falls.

Stronger legs translate to quicker reaction times, more muscle mass, stable walking gaits, and the ability to get up from the floor or get up from a chair easier.  You've got to practice the skills to get up from the floor and follow the tips to get up from the chair but strong legs make independence possible.