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In our clinic one of the most common causes of injury we see are from people having falls. Although a small slip or fall can seem minimal it can lead to months of pain and physiotherapy to recover. People tend to think a fall is related to clumsiness or not paying attention however there are many ways in which we can prevent falls. Falls mainly occur due to lack of strength and balance. A simple exercise that can test your fall risk is standing on one leg! Seems simple right, why don’t you try this simple test at home. Just try standing on one leg with your other foot off the ground and time how long you can balance for. A recent study has shown that people who can balance standing on one leg for over 10 seconds have a lower risk of falling. Those who can’t stand on one leg for more than 6.5 seconds have a much higher risk of having a fall. How did you go? Did you manage 10 seconds? The good news is if you couldn’t balance for long you can make vast improvements with some simple exercises. Did you know we hold small Seniors Strength and Balance classes run by a physio? This is a great opportunity to be assessed and guided with structured exercised that will help increase your strength and stability to reduce your risk of having a fall. Give us a call if you would like to know more. Larsson BA, Johansson L, Mellström D, Johansson H, Axelsson KF, Harvey N, Vandenput L, McCloskey E, Liu E, Sundh D, Kanis JA (2021) One leg standing time predicts fracture risk in older women independent of clinical risk factors and BMD. Osteoporosis International. 33(1), 185-194. |
