simple balance exercise for your ankle and brain; H1N1 flu
I have always been impressed how often a bad string of ill health starts with a fall. For many older people, a fall, especially one resulting in a broken hip, can lead to a cascade of problems: surgery, a long period of diminished mobility and further loss of bone and muscle strength, then sometimes complications like blood clots and pneumonia, and even a tendency towards mental decline if measures are not taken to reverse this course.
And falls in younger people are not great either. For the physically active, sprained ankles are the number one sports injury. In the U.S. alone, about 8 million people suffer such an injury, and, alarmingly, about 30 to 80 percent of those people will go on to re-sprain either the same ankle or the other.
One common factor leading to falls in both younger, and especially older folds, is a diminished sense of balance, so no matter what your age—whether you want to avoid a sprained ankle that would crimp your exercise routine or a broken hip that could lead to much worse problems—I recommend you look at this simple, yet elegant 3 minute video about balance training imbedded in this New York Times health blog article. While the video shows several different simple exercises you can do to strengthen your ankles and improve your sense of balance, the take-away basic exercise is this (from the article): “Stand on one leg. Try not to wobble. Hold for one minute. Repeat.” (Try it; it might be tougher than you suspect.)
You can progress towards more difficult exercises from that basic one, such as crossing your arms while balancing on one leg, then closing your eyes, then trying it on an unstable, softer surface such as foam or a pillow. The more difficult ones will do more to strengthen your brain’s balance circuitry, which is especially important as we get into middle-age and beyond (if doesn’t apply to you, think about your parents).
Make sure you do any of these exercises close to a wall or a table or column or something to steady yourself if needed, and do it away from sharp or breakable objects. Check with your doctor especially if you have had a recent injury. You might even start a routine of doing the basic balance exercise while brushing or flossing your teeth…it’s a way to incorporate several beneficial health behaviors at the same time, and beginning a routine like that will make you much more likely to be consistent with the activity, and consistency is one key to success. Consider a Post-It reminder note on your bathroom mirror, until the activity becomes a habit!
A New Risk Factor For H1N1 (swine flu) Infection
An interesting risk factor has emerged regarding those who get severely ill or die from H1N1 flu: obesity. It seems that a large majority of those ending up in intensive care units worldwide are overweight, and the more overweight, the higher the risk of more severe complications. This story of course is still unfolding, but it’s a very curious finding so far, and may be the reason that Japan, for example, with a very low prevalence of obesity, has had ZERO deaths with over 2000 H1N1 cases confirmed. The U.S., with a huge, growing prevalence of obesity, has a much higher death rate. For more, including theories why, click here. Another good reason to keep your weight under control, and not only for this infection…excess fat cells secrete substances that impair your general immune system, leaving the obese more prone to infections, as well as cancer.
