Balance exercises
Your balance can deteriorate with age or injury. This can lead to reduced mobility, impaired co-ordination and increased risk of further injury. This information aims to guide you through a programme of simple exercises you can do at home, which are progressive to help improve your balance and muscle strength.
To begin with, consider doing the exercises near a wall or stable chair to help your stability.
It is normal to feel some discomfort when exercising and stretching but it should not be painful. If you have new pain or your current symptoms worsen stop doing the exercises.
Standing up straight move your weight onto one foot, and raise the other off the ground.- Try and stay as still as possible.
- Keep your body straight and hips level.
- Hold for 30 seconds.
- Practice this routinely throughout the day on both legs.
Standing up straight move your weight onto one foot, and raise the other off the ground.- Focussing on technique, slowly bend your knee down and up to the count of 5 seconds each way.
- Your knee should bend over your ankle in a forward motion without rolling your knee inwards.
- Practice this routinely throughout the day on both legs.
- This is the same movement as in stage 2 above, however we are now focussing on improving your strength and coordination by increasing the number of repetitions.
- Start with 3 repetitions on both legs. 3 times per day.
- Aim to increase to 10 repetitions on both legs. 3 times per day.
- To further challenge your stability consider standing on a softer surface such as a carpeted floor or an exercise mat.
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If your problem does not improve as you would expect with the self-care exercises, after 6-12 weeks of following the advice, you should contact a healthcare professional for advice.
This may be your GP, Pharmacist, NHS Podiatry Service or a Private Podiatrist. Please make sure your podiatrist is registered with the Health and Care Professions Council and look out for the letters HCPC after their name.
Please note good compliance with daily stretching may take up to 6 – 8 weeks before the benefits are felt.
