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How to Reduce the Risk of Snow Shoveling Injuries

How to Reduce the Risk of Snow Shoveling Injuries

shoveling-snow-at-night

When the snow starts to fly, your trusty shovel is often the only thing between you and a day spent snowed in. If used improperly, however, that same shovel could leave you with a painful (and maybe even debilitating) injury. Statistics from emergency room and primary care visits provide plenty of evidence that it happens to lots of people every year. That said, it is certainly possible to remove snow from your sidewalk and driveway safely. Here are a few techniques that will help you reduce your risk of snow shoveling injuries. 

How to Reduce Your Risk of Snow Shoveling Injuries 

The first thing to do when facing the cold is to make sure your body is nice and warm – warmed up, that is. Snow shoveling is an aerobic activity, so it’s wise to treat it the same way you would a jog or a swim. Walk briskly for five minutes, do 100 jumping jacks, or simply march in place. Stretch your lower back, hamstrings, and arms to make sure they’re limber and flexible. Your chiropractor can show you specific stretches that will help get your muscles and joints in shoveling shape. 

Next, consider your tools. Having the right ergonomic shovel is a great help when it comes to removing stress on the spine. Choose a shovel that has a curved handle for better ergonomics. A shovel with a small, plastic blade limits the amount of weight you’ll end up lifting, reducing the risk of strain and injuries. Choose your clothing carefully as well. Good quality boots with plenty of traction will keep your feet warm and dry while reducing the risk of slipping. 

Once you’re prepared, it’s time to shovel. Push the snow to the side rather than lifting it whenever possible. When you do have to lift, the key word is “straight.” Face the snow straight on, with your hips square. Bend at the knees, take on a small load, and lift with your legs while tightening your stomach muscles. Keep your back straight: don’t twist to toss the snow to the side. Instead, move your feet.  

Proper pacing is another effective way to avoid injuries. If you are dealing with a foot of snow, don’t try to get all of it in a single scoop. Instead, remove it in layers from the top a few inches at a time. Take a break every fifteen minutes, or if you start to feel overworked. Stretch your arms, switch out your gloves or hat if they’ve gotten soaked, and remember to drink plenty of water.  

The number one way to avoid shoveling injuries is to let something (or someone) else do the work. A snow blower is a great investment if you live in a snowy area or have lots of ground to cover. If you suffer from back pain or have a previous injury, consider hiring someone else to do the job. 

If you tend to have back pain after shoveling, consider checking in with a chiropractor about it. Your chiropractor can help you identify areas where your technique could be changed for better safety and effectiveness. He or she can also suggest specific exercises and stretches that will improve your core strength and flexibility. With a little caution and know-how, you and your shovel can handle any winter challenge that comes your way. 

Fitness Lessons from the Dance Studio

Fitness Lessons from the Dance Studio

Tuniertänzer

 For those who want to get fit, but find the thought of working out at a gym about as appealing as a root canal, dancing may be the answer. Dancing is a fun way to get off the couch and exercise without it actually feeling like work (most of the time, anyway). People who dance regularly point out that it can help you manage your weight, maintain your flexibility and improve your coordination.  Plus it’s a social activity, so you can make new friends or enjoy old ones while you’re at it! 

The TV show “Dancing with the Stars” has contributed to a sort of popular renaissance for ballroom dancing in the U.S. Dance classes teaching tango, foxtrot and salsa are quick to fill up, and the demand is growing. But did you know that, entertainment value aside, dancing may also have more health benefits—physically and mentally—than most people realize? 

Dancing has been found to boost memory and help reduce your risk of dementia as you age, according to a study published in the New England Journal of Medicine. The part of the brain responsible for memory, the hippocampus, normally shrinks as we grow older. Those who dance show greater volume in the hippocampus. Of 11 physical activities included in the study, only dancing reduced dementia risk. 

According to Dr. Joe Verghese, a professor at New York’s Albert Einstein College of Medicine, “Dance, in many ways, is a complex activity. It’s not just purely physical.” Although the exercise itself increases blood flow to the brain, dancing also involves having to memorize steps, anticipate your partner’s moves, and is a very social form of exercise. 

Dancing can also relieve stress and reduce depression. The social contact that happens during dance lessons and at dance events allows you to meet new people who can become part of your support network. It has been shown to increase energy levels as well. 

Dancing is a great way to get cardiovascular exercise, and it may provide even greater benefits than the cardio you get at the gym. An Italian study found that the patients with cardiovascular disease who started waltzing on a regular basis had healthier hearts, better breathing, and a more improved quality of life than patients who walked on a treadmill or biked for exercise. 

Those interested in losing weight can also look to dancing. A study in the Journal of Physiological Anthropology found that people who enrolled in a dance training program lost as much weight and increased their aerobic power as much as those who practiced biking or jogging. 

Tango, which is enjoying one of the largest resurgences in ballroom dancing, can help improve your balance. Tango requires dancers to have good posture and balance while quickly executing complicated movements that often require rapid changes in direction. 

Don’t worry if you feel you have two left feet. Most people can significantly improve their dancing ability with just a little practice. And it’s important not to be too critical of yourself. There are a lot of beginners out there, many of whom feel unsure about their dancing. Just relax and have fun with it, and you will find the improvement in your fitness a nice side benefit! 

 

Winter Fitness Tips for the Rest of Us

Winter Fitness Tips for the Rest of Us

Do you have family members, close friends or coworkers who just can’t wait for the winter weather to get here? Maybe they’re hardcore skiers or snowboarders. Maybe they’re ice skaters or hockey players. Or perhaps they’re all-season runners looking forward to a change of pace. Whatever they’re into, this article IS NOT FOR THEM. This article is for the rest of us.

One of the great challenges faced by many people who live in four-season climates is how to stay active and get enough exercise once the temperatures start dropping. When it’s cold and wet outside, few of us have the “Just Do It” mentality of Olympic marathoner Joan Benoit. She’s inspired a well-known Nike commercial that showcases her commitment. Joan (bless her) takes one look out the door of her Maine cottage at 5:25 in the morning, sees a raging snowstorm, and goes out for her morning run anyway. That’s why Joan is an Olympian.

But no matter how important we know it is to remain active during the cold months, most of us still need a little inspiration—and a plan. To help out, we’ve compiled a list of tips to help you get your winter exercise this season.

Outdoor Fitness Tips

  • Don’t let the cold weather keep you indoors. Bundle up, wear lots of layers, don’t forget your gloves and hat, stretch first, and then step out to enjoy the brisk air.
  • Remember your New Years’ Resolutions about exercise, and try to keep to them. Just a 10-15 minute walk every day before dinner can do wonders to keep you healthy and fit.
  • Buy yourself a pedometer and set a goal of walking 10,000 steps a day. If you’ve got a dog, his or her walks are great opportunities to add to your daily total.
  • Go for walks in the snow, or just go outside and rake leaves or do other work in the yard.
  • If you’re fit (check with your doctor first), rather than lamenting that accumulation of snow, go out and shovel some of it. It’s one of the best forms of exercise you can get provided that you use proper form and take the right precautions.
  • If you’re normally athletic and in good shape, consider learning a new winter sport such as skiing or snowboarding.
  • If you’re more sedentary, consider lower-impact sports such as snowshoeing, cross-country skiing, tobogganing, or skating.
  • Plan your social activities around your exercise plan, and allow your friends and family to get in on the fun—and the exercise—too.

Indoor Fitness Tips

  • Remember the benefits of exercising at home. Consider buying a treadmill or exercise bicycle and some hand weights or stretch bands and exercise in front of your TV instead of being a couch potato.
  • If you’re not really an exercise-at-home kind of person, consider joining a gym. They often have special membership prices at this time of year, and most of them also offer courses in things like yoga, martial arts or aerobics.
  • At work or on the way there, take the stairs rather than the elevator or escalator.
  • Turn your housework into an exercise program, staying active by dancing your way through the vacuuming, mopping, and window washing. It’s more exercise than you think, and it has the extra benefit of keeping your house clean.
  • If it’s really too cold to be outside, go to the mall and do some “mall-walking,” getting your exercise and your shopping taken care of at the same time.

Remember—every season offers its own unique opportunities to get healthy and stay fit. During the winter months, all it takes is a little creativity and a willingness to adapt. The change of pace can do you good!

If you haven’t been physically active in a while and you’re kick-starting a new fitness routine, we encourage you to check with your doctor first. This is particularly true if you have known health conditions or are prone to injury. We can be a great resource when it comes to designing structured exercise programs that help you meet your goals. Call or visit our office today!

Building a Better Workout: Muscle Confusion 101

Building a Better Workout: Muscle Confusion 101

Whether you train seriously or have a more casual interest in personal fitness, you’ve probably heard the term “muscle confusion” at some point. Muscle confusion has been strongly associated with several at-home workout programs over the past few years (P90X is probably the best known), but the underlying training principle is much more than just marketing. In fact, it’s been producing results in one form or the other since it was introduced in the 1970s.

While there’s been a lot of debate—and, yes, confusion—in the fitness world about the general concept, much of it has to do with exactly how the term is defined and the best techniques for actually applying the idea. There’s very little meaningful disagreement about why muscles need to be challenged in different ways in order for them to continue to develop.

Over time, muscles stop responding to the same workouts with the same improvements. This is because muscles naturally adapt if they perform the same types of exercises, with the same amount of resistance, for the same number of repetitions, on the same days, week after week. At some point, they simply no longer have to grow in size or strength to accomplish what’s expected of them. This is known as a workout plateau.

The goal of muscle confusion is to take the “routine” out of a workout routine by challenging the muscles in a variety of ways that encourage them to continue adapting. This is one way to avoid or minimize plateaus. Muscle confusion falls into a category of workout techniques known as periodization and more specifically, non-linear periodization. This technique changes each week’s workout sessions to focus on different muscle properties in order to achieve specific gains in size, power and stamina. These changes also tend to burn more calories, which aids in weight loss and weight management.

Muscle confusion workouts typically use traditional strength-training exercises such as the bench press, lat pull-down, biceps curl, triceps extension, leg press, leg curl and leg extension. However, these workouts “mix them up” in at least three important ways:

  • Varying the amount of resistance from heavy to light
  • Changing the number of repetitions in each set
  • Altering the speed or pace at which the exercises are performed

A simplified example of a muscle confusion workout program might include one day a week of heavy lifting with one to four repetitions per set. The next workout day, a medium resistance might be lifted at a faster speed with one to four repetitions. The third workout day of the week, a lighter resistance might be lifted between six and 10 times starting out at a faster pace and slowing as muscle fatigue sets in.

In addition to changing the amount of weight, number of repetitions and speed involved in performing individual exercises, some experienced trainers increase the amount of muscle confusion even further by changing the order of the exercises themselves and varying the amount of time between sets.  The change in exercise sequence can be used to pre-fatigue certain muscles (for instance, by performing the triceps extension before the larger-muscle-group bench press), while a reduction in time between sets (perhaps from two minutes to 30 seconds) can be used to accelerate the break-down in muscle tissue that stimulates repair and growth. Of course, no matter which muscle confusion variations are used, the usual precautions about warming up, exercising through a full range of motion and cooling down properly all still apply. And it’s always important to allow enough time between workouts for muscles to recover.

Beyond athletic performance and looking better in a swimsuit, there are lots of good reasons to consider a weight training program. Strong, healthy muscles help to support your frame, reduce wear-and-tear on your joints and keep the body in proper alignment. Plus, researchers have discovered that building lean muscle mass can increase metabolism, which helps with weight loss and weight maintenance since muscles use more calories to sustain themselves. They’ve also found that building more muscle mass (and bone mass) throughout your early adulthood and middle-age years may translate into a lower risk of disability and a healthier, more active lifestyle in your 60s and beyond.

A well-designed weight training program—perhaps built with ideas like muscle confusion in mind—can have many benefits that last a lifetime. But remember to talk with your chiropractic physician or other healthcare provider before you begin any new fitness program, especially if you haven’t been active in a while, are recovering from an injury or illness or suspect you may have health problems. As experts in helping patients recover, maintain and improve their musculoskeletal health, we can work with you to develop a well-rounded program that achieves your goals while reducing the risk of injury. Just call or visit the office today to learn more!

4 Best Exercises for Improved Posture

4 Best Exercises for Improved Posture

Let’s face it. Good posture isn’t exactly a high priority for many Americans. Like most things related to our health and wellness, we don’t notice it until it’s gone. 

Most of us live in a sitting culture—we sit at work, we sit at school, and we sit at home. The hard truth is that most of us sit too much and sit incorrectly. Beyond this, our love affair with mobile devices is amplifying the post problem by encouraging us to bend over, hunch our shoulders and crane our necks to look at small screens. Given our lifestyle choices, poor posture may seem almost inevitable. But it doesn’t have to be that way. For anyone with a bit of mobility, motivation and time, there are exercises you can do to improve poor posture. Here are four of the best types of exercises to help you improve your posture. 

Exercises to Strengthen Your Core

A strong core is essential for good posture. Your core includes your abdominals, lower back, obliques, and hips. Strong core muscles don’t just give you an attractive “six-pack” to show off at the beach. In fact, they help hold your body up straight, improve your balance, and provide you with greater muscle control and efficiency. They’re also critical to maintaining back health and provide some measure of protection against injury. When your core muscles aren’t strong, other muscles have to compensate, which results in reduced mobility as well as weakness and even pain. So, to help avoid or reduce low back pain, try regular core training. Some core training exercises include basic crunches (but not full sit-ups), side planks, crunches with a twist, standing side bends, and plank holds. Doing Pilates is another great way to work out your core muscles, as are back extensions and slow swimming. 

Exercises to Correct Your Rounded Shoulders

Because so many people spend their day hunched over while driving, sitting at a desk while working, using a laptop, or even watching television, rounded shoulders are extremely common—but they are in fact a postural abnormality. When you spend a lot of time in these forward-reaching positions, the muscles in your chest, shoulders, and hips become shortened and tight, and at the same time, your upper and middle back muscles lose strength. In order to help avoid and ease rounded shoulders, you can do exercises that strengthen the weak upper back muscles and stretch the tight muscles in the chest, shoulders, lats, and hips. As the upper back becomes stronger and the chest becomes more flexible, the shoulders naturally pull back, which improves your posture significantly. You can strengthen the upper back with exercises such as reverse dumbbell flys as well as rows with a resistance band, while you can stretch your tight muscles by doing standing chest stretches, torso stretches, and standing quad stretches. 

Exercises to Neutralize Your Tilted Hips

Hips should be neutral and level when viewed from the side—however, some people have postural abnormalities stemming from their hips’ tendency to slant forward. This is called the anterior pelvic tilt, and it negatively affects posture. Lordosis (also known as “swayback”) is a common indication of this tilt. Seen very often in people who sit for hours every day with their legs bent, this abnormality is caused by weakness in the hamstrings, glutes, and abs as well as tightness in the hip flexors and thighs. Exercises to correct this tilt include the core exercises mentioned above as well as bridges, leg curls with a ball, and single leg hamstring flexions with a ball. Exercises that stretch tight hip and quad muscles include standing quad stretches and kneeling quad and hip stretches. 

Exercises to Retract a Forward Head

Unfortunately, you can easily develop poor posture by tilting your head forward for hours every day. This happens when you drive, when you use a laptop or tablet, or when you watch television. When you fail to retract your head while performing everyday tasks, this tightens the front and side neck muscles and weakens the deep and rear muscles of the neck. The muscles at the front of your neck have to be strong enough to hold your head directly above—not forward of—the shoulders. Not only does this abnormality contribute to poor posture, but it also causes chronic neck pain. In order to retract a forward head, elongate the back of your neck by gently pulling your chin straight in. The highest point of your body should be the top back of your head. This works against the penchant to slip into a forward head posture. You can also work on this issue while driving: practice pulling your chin in and pushing your head into the headrest behind you for a few seconds at a time, then releasing. If you have a high-backed chair that you sit in at work, you can do this at your desk as well.  

Are You Sedentary?

Are You Sedentary?

Did you know that you need to walk at least 7000 steps a day? If you walk less than 7000 steps a day, you are considered sedentary! Today, we are sharing a video from www.primalplay.com. It helps to quickly show the results of living a sedentary lifestyle. Primal Play is a great website to check out if you want to incorporate more movement into your day in a fun and easy way! Have a wonderful “Moving” day!

Why is chiropractic care essential for Crossfit?

Why is chiropractic care essential for Crossfit?

Crossfit is intense. It exercises the body and pushes it to perform at its maximum ability. However, like any exercise (especially high-intensity exercise), you should take steps to prevent injury. Of course, taking time to warm up and ensuring your form is correct, will help you reduce the chance of injury. But, there is one more step to add to your routine: regular chiropractic care.

You may think going to the chiropractor is only for adjustments and to relieve pain, but it’s more than that. Chiropractic care may actually increase your overall performance by giving you better range of motion and even improving your balance. It can also assist in helping you heal quicker.

Chiropractors can help your body stay aligned and flexible to reduce injury. They can also assist you when you’re dealing with neck pain, back pain, or injuries.

If you’re committed to putting your body to the test and keeping yourself in top notch shape, don’t disregard chiropractic care. Crossfit can push you to excel and to perform at a high level. However, as you’re pushing yourself to your limit, it can also lead to injury.

Just by practicing Crossfit, you’re showing how committed you are to staying healthy and fit. Just make sure you’re taking it a step further and taking care of your current and future health by practicing proper form and immediately addressing any issues with your chiropractor.

If you need to schedule an appointment with Dr. Oblander, please call 406-652-3553.

This article was shared from the following website: https://www.chirohealthusa.com/patients/why-is-chiropractic-care-essential-for-crossfit-2/

Fitness Standards for Adults: Here’s What They’re Good For

Fitness Standards for Adults: Here’s What They’re Good For

President John F. Kennedy once said, “Physical fitness is not only one of the most important keys to a healthy body, it is the basis of dynamic and creative intellectual activity.” Since July 16, 1955, the American government has shown at least a political interest in the health of Americans. Under President Eisenhower, the President’s Council on Youth Fitness established a beachhead against the lagging health of American youth compared with citizens of other countries. Military officers in World War 2 complained that their recruits were out of shape. Perhaps Eisenhower’s program was meant to help reverse that condition. However, it wasn’t until President Kennedy that the Commander-in-Chief took an active role in promoting standards and committing resources to them.

After nearly 60 years, the presidential council has expanded its role in a number of directions, including sports, nutrition and—most relevant to this article—adult fitness. The president’s council has had an established standard for nominal health since 2008 and benchmarks have been created for regular, moderate and vigorous activity. In addition, the council has established an online Adult Fitness Test that allows you to compare your scores with those of fellow Americans. The test can be found at http://www.adultfitnesstest.org/dataEntry.aspx.

The areas tested include the following:

  • Aerobic fitness—Preparing for the test, you should work up to moderate exercise (e.g. brisk walking) for 30 minutes, 5+ days per week; and vigorous exercise (e.g. running) for 20–30 minutes, 3–4 days per week.
  • Muscular strength and endurance—3+ days per week, work up to 3 sets each of 25 half sit-ups and 10–20 push-ups. Between each set, include a short rest.
  • Flexibility—Static stretches should be taken to the point of tension, but never to pain. Hold each for 10–30 seconds. Repeat 1–2 additional times.
  • Body composition—Your body mass index (BMI) is a measure of height related to weight, with your waist measurement as a health indicator. This should be kept between 18.5–24.9. BMI calculators can be found online.

These sorts of tests can do a lot to raise public awareness and to help focus people on activities that will make a difference. But they will only be effective is they’re used the right way. And using them the right way starts with understanding what these tests are actually measuring and what the results mean. In some ways, measuring your performance in specific exercises relative to a national average may be less helpful than measuring your improvement over time and setting new goals based on your own progress.

When taking on any exercise program or fitness testing, especially when you have not engaged in rigorous physical activity regularly for several years, you should consult with a doctor or physical trainer. Proper preparation, good technique and consistency are the keys to staying healthy and avoiding injury. Regular chiropractic care can also play an important role in helping to speed recovery, prevent future injuries and improve performance. As musculoskeletal system specialists, chiropractors have unique insight into how patients can safely increase their strength, stamina, flexibility and balance. If you want to learn more, just call or visit our office! You can reach us at Oblander Chiropractic at 406-652-3553.

Exercise, Chiropractic More Effective Than Medicine

Exercise, Chiropractic More Effective Than Medicine

You may remember your grammar school gym class where the PE teacher would lead you in jumping jacks, push-ups, sit-ups and arm circles. If you’re like a lot of baby boomers, you probably look back and assume it really didn’t do much for the health of the students — just kept the class busy for an hour.

Elementary school days may be way behind you, but exercise carries many benefits now that it couldn’t offer a younger you, especially if you’re battling pain from an injury or chronic condition.

The Journal of Manipulative and Physiological Therapeutics published a report on randomized controlled trials, or RCTs, looking at the result of exercise as treatment for patients experiencing intense pain from soft tissue injuries in the hip, thigh or knee. Success was measured by the following factors:

  • Intensity of pain
  • Recovery
  • Quality of life
  • Psychological outcomes
  • Adverse events

“One RCT found statistically significant improvements in pain and function favoring clinic-based progressive combined exercises over a ‘wait and see’ approach for patellofemoral (anterior knee) pain syndrome,” the study says. “Patients with patellofemoral pain syndrome or groin pain had the best results with clinic-based exercise programs.”

Head to Head to Head

An ABC News blog posted study results comparing the outcome of three different forms of treatment for pain. Results show that patients treated by chiropractic professionals and the individuals who received home exercise advice, referred to as HEA, had higher rates of success than those who turned to medication for relief. Just 13 percent of the patients who took medication reported a satisfactory reduction in pain, whereas, about two-thirds of those who were treated through either chiropractic care (32 percent) or HEA (30 percent) said they were pain-free.

A total of 272 patients, ages 18-65, who were suffering from recent-onset neck pain took part in the study, which the National Institutes of Health spearheaded.

“I always prescribe exercises and/or physical therapy for neck pain,” wrote Dr. John Messmer from Penn State College of Medicine. “I also tell patients that the exercises are the treatment and the drugs are for the symptoms.”

Dr. Lee Green, professor of family medicine at the University of Michigan, also talked to ABC News. “Doesn’t surprise me a bit,” Dr. Green said. “Neck pain is a mechanical problem, and it makes sense that mechanical treatment works better than a chemical one.”

The study, which was published in the Annals of Internal Medicine, singles out the effectiveness of spinal manipulation therapy, or SMT, to provide relief for patients with neck pain. Researchers found that in both the short-term and long-term statistics, SMT had the most effective outcome. The report adds that HEA proved equally effective at some points in the study.

Participants rated their pain at several intervals: 2, 4, 8, 26, and 52 weeks. This enabled scientists to draw specific conclusions, such as the evidence showing that 12 weeks of SMT provided greater pain relief than up to one year of medication.

Chiropractic Benefits

Your chiropractor can not only provide pain releif and preventatiive therapies, they can also guide you in choosing exercises that target the areas you need treating. Chiropractic visits, in addition to home exercise practices, are a way to double down on your odds of successful treatment.

The Mayo Clinic website says there are multiple benefits to using exercise in addition to chiropractic care for your joints, as well as improving general wellness. In combination they serve to:

  • Strengthen the muscles around your joints
  • Help you maintain bone strength
  • Give you more energy to get through the day
  • Make it easier to get a good night’s sleep
  • Improve your balance

We’re not talking about the kind of punishing calisthenics that win you the Presidential Physical Fitness Award, but something to just curb your symptoms and add some range of motion. Consulting with a chiropractor and incorporating some exercise seems to be the best way to get a passing grade in pain relief.

This article was written by Martha Michael and is shared from the following website: exercise-chiropractic-more-effective-than-medicine

Where Does Good Balance and Coordination Come From? Introduction to Your Proprioceptive System

Where Does Good Balance and Coordination Come From? Introduction to Your Proprioceptive System

balancing-on-fence

Proprioception is a complex system of anatomical checks and balances, neural impulses, and brain functions that controls our sense of balance, coordination, and agility. Put most simply, proprioception is the “sixth sense” that enables you to scratch your head without looking in a mirror or climb a flight of stairs without having to look at each step.

Most of us are so accustomed to proprioception that we take it for granted. Its development starts soon after we are born and is observed in infants as soon as they gain control of their neck muscles. When the infant’s body tilts in any direction, its head also tilts in the opposite direction to level its eyes with the horizon. This “righting reflex” is the beginning of our sense of balance.

More technically, proprioception is your body’s ability to transmit a sense of its position in space, analyze that information, and react—either consciously or unconsciously—to stimuli with the proper movement and force. Proprioceptors are a specialized type of motor and sensory nerve that transmits impulses to the central nervous system (in particular, the area of the brain known as the cerebellum) from stimuli felt by the muscles, tendons, joints, and skin. The impulses transmitted by proprioceptors contain vital information, such as the amount of tension in a particular muscle and the relative position of a body part when it is moving.

, Proprioception is what enables you to reach for a glass and actually find it in space. It is also what allows you to pick up the glass with just the right amount of force, neither dropping it nor breaking it by squeezing too hard. Proprioception is what enables you to keep your balance when walking on uneven surfaces or when riding a bicycle. The impulses from proprioception combine with input received from the vestibular system (the fluid-filled network in the inner ear that enables us to feel the pull of gravity and know which direction is “up”) and with input from the visual system to create our sense of balance.

However, just as our eyes become weaker with age, so can the proprioceptive system, leading to a loss of proper balance. This is one of the reasons that falling is the number one cause of hospital admissions for people over 60. Something has gone wrong with the complex processing of information needed to maintain their balance, so older people are more likely to slip and fall on stairs or on slippery sidewalks and injure themselves.

Fortunately, you can strengthen your proprioceptive system by practicing simple balance exercises, thus keeping keep your sense of balance from weakening as you grow older. There are many forms of inexpensive exercise equipment (such as BOSU or Bongo Boards) that enable you to stand on a platform that is designed to be wobbly. This instability forces your muscles and your proprioceptive system to work more, and thus become stronger. So if you are over the age of 50, you should consider speaking to your chiropractor about exercises to improve your proprioception. They are very simple but can greatly improve your overall sense of balance, therefore significantly reducing your risk of injury from falls as you grow older. To schedule an appointment with Dr. Oblander, call 406-652-3553.