053: How to Improve Your Balance with OSTEOPOROSIS 3 Simple Exercises

In this episode of The Strong Bones Coach Podcast, Carly shares how improving your physical balance can help prevent falls and support bone health, especially for those managing osteoporosis.

Drawing on the Strong, Steady, and Straight protocol, Carly explains why balance is crucial as we age and how it plays a vital role in fall prevention and building strength. You’ll learn three simple exercises that can easily be incorporated into your daily routine to improve balance and stability.

Plus, discover how joyful movements like dancing, Tai Chi, and yoga can keep both your body and mind in balance, helping you stay strong and steady in daily life.

Episodes you might want to listen to next...

029: How to Exercise with Osteoporosis

033: Finding Alignment in Midlife and Menopause

038: Dancing for Bone Health Ft. Sarah Smales My Dance Dietitian

Thanks for listening to the Strong Bones Coach Podcast

If you'd like to get in touch to ask a question about today's episode or to find out how you can get support from my coaching, reach out on the following links:

hello@carlykillencoaching.com

https://www.instagram.com/thestrongbonescoach

Thanks for listening to The Strong Bones Coach Podcast!

If you’d like to get in touch with a question about today’s episode or find out how I can support you with coaching, here’s how to reach me:
📧 Email: hello@carlykillencoaching.com
📱 Instagram: @thestrongbonescoach

Do you crave unshakable confidence in your strength from midlife and beyond? Would you love to achieve your goals without sacrificing family time or self-care?

Ready to take your strength to the next level? Start building a stronger body and healthier bones with my Strong Bones Starter Kit—your step-by-step guide to safe and effective strength training at home.
👉 Click here to learn more and access today

🌟 Stay connected and inspired with daily wellness tips on Instagram @thestrongbonescoach.
🌟 For tailored advice or personal queries, email me at hello@carlykillencoaching.com.

Thank you for being here, and I look forward to supporting you on your journey to strength, health, and confidence! 💪🦴✨

Transcript

0:37

Hello, and welcome back to the strong bones coach podcast. I'm Carly, your guide on your path to stronger bones, better health, and a more confident life through menopause and beyond. This episode this week is coming to you at a time of year where in the UK we are just reaching the autumn equinox. It's just past actually, and this is a time where we look at balance, balance in nature, Balance between light and dark. and it's also a time where we have a perfect opportunity to talk about our own balance in our own lives. This week, we're going to focus more on physical balance. I've done episodes previously on finding your inner balance, which I will link in the show notes. So let's have a look at what it takes to achieve physical balance and why am I covering this? So our physical balance is something that becomes increasingly important as we age, especially if we are managing or are diagnosed with osteoporosis. One of the ways of managing osteoporosis is to avoid those falls that can cause fractures. So the risk of falls and the fractures that can follow is A significant concern and perhaps it's something you are worried about whether you are already diagnosed with osteoporosis or perhaps you've lost a bit of confidence in your movement. Perhaps you've had a fall that has led to an injury and this has left you feeling a little worried about what your risks might be of further falls. And this is super important to overcome because the fear of falls in itself is actually something that can cause falls. It can cause us to pull back in life. It can mean that we don't take part in sports, activities, movements. It can lead to us being a lot more sedentary. But this doesn't need to be the case. Whether you are or aren't diagnosed with osteoporosis, with the right exercises and approach, you can improve your balance and reduce that risk. And not just reduce that risk, but create the confidence to go out and do more things that bring you joy, bring memories into your life, things you can look back on, and things you can look forward to as well. In today's episode, we will be focusing on why balance and stability are so important for preventing falls and supporting bone health. I'm going to touch on the strong, steady and straight approach to approaching exercise for osteoporosis. And I have covered this in a previous episode. So another one to link to if you've not already listened in. And I'm also going to share with you three simple exercises. Well, you can start to improve your balance and strength. So let's get started. So for those of you that are not familiar with how I like to work, I like to ground everything I do within some sort of evidence base or framework and this approach is no different. You'll have heard me talk about the strong, steady, straight protocol that is within the Royal osteoporosis society. It's a fabulous framework in which I base a lot of my strength development work and balance work with my clients. So this is something I shared a few episodes back. I'm just going to give you a short recap, just so you understand the context of why I'm bringing balance in today. The first element, the strong part of this protocol, so around building that muscle strength, which is so important to support your bones and maintain your mobility. So when we do exercises that are weight bearing like resistance training that can include squats, lunges, lifting weights, even walking perhaps with a backpack on if, if your back supports this. And this is an important part of how we move because we need the strength to move ourselves independently, which is so important. We want to enjoy our lives going forward and maintain that independence, supporting ourselves for as long as possible. The next part, the steady part, this is what pertains to balance and it's all around reducing that false risk, but also creating confidence in your movement. And this includes balancing exercises that not only help to strengthen muscles, but they help you feel steady on your feet, creating that confidence in daily movements. Simple things like walking or standing up from a chair. We can easily take this for granted at times. And the third element of this also is the straight element. Keeping a good posture, spinal alignment is essential, especially if you're already diagnosed with osteoporosis, but it's not a bad idea even if you're not. This helps to keep our spine straight, aligned and strong. So not only preventing fractures if you are someone with osteoporosis, especially to the spine, but also avoiding those. Really annoying backaches that actually can be quite debilitating and play quite a big part in why we might reduce our movement as we get older. If you've ever suffered with back pain, you know how much that can have an impact on your daily life. So this serves everybody, not just those with osteoporosis. When we incorporate these into our daily routine, where it becomes part of our life, we not only prevent falls, but we get to support our overall bone health and our overall life. So now you understand where I'm coming from with this framework, let's get into why balance matters so much, especially as we start to collect those birthday candles. So especially for women in menopause or post menopause, those fluctuating hormones, particularly the decline in oestrogen, affect our bone density. It makes us more prone to osteoporosis and ultimately fractures. And with falls being a leading cause for fractures, for those diagnosed with osteoporosis, this is why I want to cover this today. So balance exercise. Can do a lot to reduce this risk, as I mentioned by improving your muscle strength, coordination, and stability. So many people I talk to worry about their coordination. They often say they don't have any at all. Now I know this isn't true, but I can certainly vouch for how it feels to lose a few skills. It's definitely a use it or lose it situation here, but as we get older, we can naturally lose some of our balance, even without realizing it. The more sedentary we are, the more time we spend sitting down, whether that's through work, through hobbies that are seated, through not putting that stress through our muscles, we are essentially creating conditions where we start to lose our muscle. And when our brain isn't challenged to use balance in unstable situations, then it basically is going to forget how to do it. So how do you know if you are working on your balance? There's something I like to talk to my clients about is that when we're working our muscles for strength, We can expect our muscles to feel a bit warm, a little tight, perhaps a bit fatigued. So to work on a balance, we need to feel a bit wobbly, and it's by creating these wobbles that our brain has to respond to us with our senses. So our vision, our inner ear, needs to work to balance us and that feedback we get from the ground. As we learn to navigate those moments when we are on unstable ground or in need of some balancing. So many of my clients or many of the ladies I speak to, they don't like to do balance exercises because they feel wobbly. They sometimes feel a bit embarrassed that they feel the balance isn't very good, but that really doesn't matter. It's important to Practice these situations where we need to use our balance. So wobbles are good. We need the wobbles, and if we're not wobbling, we probably need something a little more challenging to create those wobbly moments so we get to correct that. Our brain gets to learn what needs to happen, which muscles need to be involved, how does our vision, how does our balance, and our inner ear need to respond to that. So unless it's challenged, we don't get to practice. It's just like strength training. But I know this might sound a little scary if you're already diagnosed with osteoporosis, if you've already had falls recently, or you know you've had a history of having quite a few falls, but avoiding these movements is likely to further increase your risk of a fall through loss of balance. So to help yourself feel safer, you can start with small movements that you do find easier and do them near a base of support, something you can hold on to. If you do find you'll lose your balance, perhaps do it with someone there to support you. After all, we are trying to avoid a fall here too, so I don't want you to challenge yourself to the point where you completely lose balance and fall over. It's about small steps, building that confidence, getting better bit by bit. Because balance isn't something you've lost forever. So if you have noticed your balance being something you struggle with, perhaps something you never really felt that connected to, we can absolutely rebuild that with consistent practice. It's all about doing the reps. We just need to make sure we do them often enough that our brain gets to have that sense of practice. So today I'm going to share three simple exercises that can help you improve your balance as well as strengthening your bones. Let's get into the practical side of things with these exercises then that focus on our balance. Each of these exercises is designed to be safe and effective, especially if you are managing osteoporosis. What's really important about these exercises and that you'll notice is that they all involve time on your feet. So the Royal Osteoporosis Society has supported research that has found that the more time we spend sat down, whether that's through work or hobbies that require us to sit for longer periods of time can contribute to falls through the loss of muscle and through essentially not giving our brain opportunity to practice balance enough. It really is a case of use it or lose it. So even a commitment to getting up and walking around more frequently, it's a great start to improving your balance. So let's get to the exercises though. So the first exercise I'm going to talk to you about, I use as a warmup with many of my clients. It's a great way to get yourself ready to do exercise, but you will want to do this near a chair, near a wall, just to make sure you feel balanced and just move within the capacity that you feel you already have. So this first exercise is called Energy Tree Breathing. Of course, I've brought breathing into this. So this exercise combines a breath work with a simple balancing move. It's perfect for connecting your body and mind while gently strengthening your legs and your core. So how to do it. Imagine yourself, feel free to join in if you're not driving, or perhaps come back to this later to give it a go. So you want to be standing with your feet hip width apart, initially put your arms by your sides. Okay. As you inhale, raise your arms overhead and come up onto your tiptoes. As you exhale, lower your arms down and come back down onto your heels, onto your feet, flat on the floor. Repeat this for maybe five to ten breaths, just moving slowly and with control. We don't need to work hard with the breath. This needs to feel a soft, natural breath. We're not trying to inhale really strongly, or blow out really strongly. Just your natural breath, coordinated with some gentle movements. So this not only helps to coordinate, strengthen your legs, ankles, but it also encourages you to focus on your breath. Which can help reduce stress. Improve your sense of balance and ultimately create more confidence in your movement. The second super simple exercise, heel to toe walking. Now this is a fantastic exercise for improving balance and coordination. It engages your core, but also strengthens your legs, challenges your stability by asking you to connect with the ground that you're walking on. So this is an incredibly grounding exercise as well as something you can do to improve on your balance. So it's multi purpose this, very efficient. So how do we do this then? So again we want to stand nice and tall looking straight ahead of you and you'll want to start by placing one foot directly in front of the other so the heel of your front foot touches the toes. of your back foot. Walk forward in a straight line, one foot in front of the other, maybe for about 10 to 15 steps, and just hold your arms lightly at your sides for balance. Now you might find yourself looking down at your feet initially, of course do make sure you have a clear space around you, there's nothing you're going to trip over or slip on, but do try and work towards looking straight ahead, because where you place your eyes, Where your head goes is where your body will go. So this really is an exercise in trusting the ground beneath you, trusting that you will know where to place your feet with practice. Again, feel free to do this either with a stick or a pole for support, just for that feel confidence, Or perhaps next to a rail or a wall, if you're really not sure how this is going to feel initially. But this is a great exercise for strengthening the muscles in your feet, in your hips, and improving that coordination and balance. Absolutely key elements when we want to avoid those falls. And the third exercise, a classic, but super important for life. And this is squats to a chair or a box. Now squats are fantastic for building leg strength and improving your ability to stand up and sit down safely. Movement we do every day. And one of the reasons why many people need to move to assisted living or nursing home care, when they lose the ability to do this, because let's face it, we need to do this to go to the toilet. And if we can't, There's a big chunk of our independence gone. And this is also a great test to see what your risk of falls might be. Of course, I do more in depth assessments when we think there might be a risk of falls, but a super simple way to test yourself on whether you might be at risk of falls or not is to see, can you get out of the chair without using your arms? It's amazing how we get into these habits of using our arms, of rocking ourselves out of a chair, of throwing ourselves onto the couch at the end of the day when we're tired. But try it. Try and use just your legs to stand up and sit down. And if you're having some challenges with that, this is definitely an area to work on. So how do we want to do this squat to a chair or squat to box, whether you're at home or in a gym? So initially you want to stand in front of a sturdy chair or a box that's nice and stable. With your feet around hip width apart and you just want to steadily and slowly lower yourself into a squat movement using your legs to control the movement down onto the surface, the box of the chair. And just see if you can manage to keep your arms out in front of you, essentially just avoiding using them for balance. Now once you've sat down there, see if you can keep some of that weight into your feet, so not flopping down into the seat or box, and then stand back up again, again, without using your hands for support. Now you can build this up to do perhaps 10 to 12 reps, but if it doesn't If it's challenging to even just do one or two, then just start there. Now, you might want another chair in front of you for some support or a pole to help you. And then just notice how much support are you needing? Of course, if you'd like more information about how you can do these, please just get in touch on hello at carlykillincoaching. com. I'd be more than happy to guide you more in depth or. Help you understand how you can get one of these more in depth assessments. Because this movement really is a basic of life. Not just to strengthen our legs and core, but to help us move safely from sitting to standing. Crucial just for our whole life. And as a bonus, let's talk about other kinds of movement. Because balance doesn't just come from exercise. It comes from engaging in movement that you enjoy. Incorporating joyful movement into your routine, not only strengthens your body, but it nurtures your mental and emotional wellbeing. So what kind of movements get to be fun and support our balance? Well, firstly, we have dancing and I did a podcast on this not so long ago with a lovely guest, the dance dietitian, which I will link in the show notes, but dancing. Whether that's in a class, whether it's a partner or just dancing around the kitchen, it's a wonderful way to build coordination, lift your mood and generally get moving. Next we have Tai Chi. A lot of evidence around Tai Chi and improving balance. So it's known for its very slow flowing movements. Again, it is an excellent way to improve balance, but also reducing stress and promoting overall well being. And of course, we also have yoga and Pilates. These both in their different ways can encourage strength, flexibility and balance whilst also promoting mindfulness and body awareness. All things that support as we try to connect our mind, body to create that vibrant, confident life going forward. So these activities don't just improve balance, they really bring a sense of connection to your body, as well as helping to reduce stress, which we know can negatively impact our bone health. So let's go over a few key points just to wrap up for this week then. So of course, our physical balance is essential for preventing falls and supporting that bone health, especially if you're already diagnosed with osteoporosis, but even if you're not, we have a strong, steady and straight approach. That really does emphasize the importance of strength, balance, and posture in maintaining our physical health and reducing your fracture risk. We went through simple exercises like your energy tree breathing, heel toe walking, and your stable squats to help improve your balance and coordination. And of course, remembering to get in some joyful movements throughout the day, throughout different parts of your week Helping you to stay strong and steady as you create your vibrant and fracture free life. So if you're feeling unsure about where to start with any of this, or you would like some more personal support, I am offering free 30 minute clarity calls. So these are mini coaching sessions designed to help you untangle any confusion, find a path forward and feel more empowered, especially on your menopause journey. So you can book a call by my website, which will be in the show notes, and I'd love to support you in finding your balance, both physically and mentally. So until next week, stay strong. Take care.