Getting The Balance Right

Staying safely upright seems like something we do without thinking, but as we age we need to pay extra attention to maintaining our balance.

- Sophia Auld

When Debbie was 53, a trip to the clothesline landed her in hospital with a broken ankle. She’d stepped on uneven ground and fallen, leading to surgery, weeks on crutches and months of rehabilitation.

Like many women, Debbie thought balance problems only happened to frail seniors. However, the Australian Longitudinal Study on Women’s Health has shown that between 20 and 30 percent of women aged 50-64 fall each year. Relatively little is known about falls in this group, but the good news is that plenty can be done to improve balance and reduce falls risk, and it’s never too early (or too late) to start.

In good balance

In standing, the body is unstable – with a small base relative to its height – so remaining steady as we move around is challenging. We do this successfully thanks to our vision, vestibular system (inner ear) and somotosensory system (sensation feedback from joints and muscles) – which provide information about our bodies and the environment.

Our brains orchestrate these systems and prompt our muscles to respond, so we can stand on one leg to put stockings on or stay steady on a bus.

As we get older, however, there is progressive loss of these sensory and motor functions, says Dr Daina Sturnieks, a senior researcher and laboratory manager at the Falls, Balance and Injury Research Centre at NeuRA. Things like vision and the ability to switch muscles on quickly – along with cognitive function – start to decline, impacting our ability to maintain balance and thereby increasing the risk of falls.