Core Programs for Good Balance and a Healthy Back

More than 80 percent of adults in North America suffer from back pain at some point in their adult life. That statistic is staggering. In the United States, back pain is the leading cause of disability from work. One major American corporation spent $75 million in only one year to pay healthcare providers who treated employees with low back pain. Back pain is often related to poor posture and lack of stability in the spine, due to weak core muscles. In addition, poor postural stability over the years eventually leads to balance problems in later years. Increasingly, older adults are suffering from falls or from the fear of falling. The same contributing factors that present as a pain in the back when you’re younger, can lead to a broken hip or permanent use of a walker when you’re older. One out of every three people over age 65 falls at least once a year. Twenty five percent of people over the age of 50 who break a hip die from a fall within the first year after the accident. About 50 percent of those who break their hips never regain full walking ability. That should get your attention. The loss of balance and postural control doesn’t happen overnight, but occurs slowly over the years, as the muscles that support good posture grow weaker.
Just as you need to take preventive measures against osteoporosis and muscle wasting, you need to act now to preserve your sense of equilibrium for the future. Better balance also serves you well in dozens of sports, from mountain biking to rock climbing to in-line skating. You’ll catch on to these activities more quickly and avoid injuries that would befall those with a shakier sense of balance.
More and more health clubs are adding classes onto their schedules that incorporate core training and balance exercises and use balance training equipment.