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The amount of time you can balance on one leg may be an important indicator of your health and aging, a new study has found.
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Researchers have found that the amount of time a person can stand on one leg is a better measure of aging than changes in muscle strength or gait.
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Experts explain how balance is related to biological age and how to test to find out your balance.
Yes, yoga has great benefits low impact exercise Promotes overall health. But it turns out that one pose in particular can demonstrate more than just flexibility. How long you can stand on one leg may be an important indicator of your health and how well you age, according to new research.
A small Mayo Clinic study found that pro swan They surveyed 40 healthy, independent people over the age of 50, half of whom were under 65. The remaining half were over 65 years old. Researchers used the following tests to assess age-related decline and gender differences.
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Grip strength: A hand-held device was used to measure upper body strength.
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Knee strength: knee extension exercise Evaluate lower body strength.
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Walking: Participants walked a designated path at their own pace while a motion analysis system captured their movements.
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Balance: Participants stood on a plate and their balance was measured in four different scenarios: standing on both legs with eyes open, standing on both legs with eyes closed, and standing on dominant and non-dominant legs with eyes open. I did. Participants were able to hold their non-standing leg anywhere they wanted.
Of the four tests, researchers found that the time a person could maintain balance while standing on one leg showed “the highest rate of decline with age,” according to the Mayo Clinic. In other words, the amount of time a person can stand on their dominant and non-dominant legs significantly decreases with age, and the decline is greater than that of gait or muscle strength.
More specifically, the researchers found that the amount of time a person can stand on one leg decreases at a rate of 2.2 seconds per decade for the dominant leg, while it decreases at a rate of 1.7 seconds per decade for the dominant leg. It was revealed by. The researchers noted that these findings apply to all genders.
“balance This is an important measure because it requires input from the visual and vestibular systems in addition to muscle strength. [a sensory system in the inner ear that helps maintain balance]and somatosensory systems [part of the nervous system that allows people to perceive sensations from the body, like touch, pressure, pain, temperature, and movement]”The study’s senior author, Kenton Kaufman, Ph.D., director of the Movement Analysis Laboratory at the Mayo Clinic, said: statement. “Changes in balance are noteworthy. If you have poor balance, you are at risk of falling, whether you are moving or not. Falls pose serious health risks and have serious consequences.”
The statement pointed out: Main causes of injury Falls in adults over 65 are unintentional, and most falls in older adults are due to loss of balance.
conclusion
This study shows how balance can be used as a measure of age, but it is not the first study to do so. a June 2022 Survey They discovered that people who were unable to stand on one leg lived longer, confirming that the ability to balance is linked to longevity. 10 seconds balance test It was associated with an 84% increased risk of death over the next seven years.
Fortunately, you can take steps to prevent this from happening. balance exercises. “For example, standing on one leg trains you to coordinate your muscular and vestibular responses to maintain proper balance. If you can stand on one leg for 30 seconds, you are in good health,” Dr. Kaufman told the Mayo Clinic. said in a statement.
“If you don’t use it, you lose it. If you use it, you preserve it,” Dr. Kaufman continued. “It’s easy. You don’t need any special equipment and you can do it every day.”
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