How long can you balance on one foot?

BZAH10

springlering62 wrote: »

Oh boy, where do I start? I’ve been doing yoga for about eight years, up to six or eight classes a week, the majority “flow” classes. Arm balance? No sweat. One leg? Forget it.

I used to get extremely frustrated, and beat myself up. I’ve slowly learned over the years to treat it as great fun and simply laugh at myself, and apologize to my neighbor when I invariably topple over on them.

I’ve added balance practice to my morning stretch, and under ideal circumstances can get up to fifteen seconds a time. But “ideal” is few and far between, and doing it in a class is seldom ideal when you feel like you have eyes boring into the back of your head. (I feel like being in the front row makes me work harder.)

I would venture that between yoga, lifting, running, and Pilates, I’m fairly fit. I’ve been told balance is due to weak core (not guilty), tight hamstrings (I’m “bendy”), weak ankles (meh, maybe), you name it. All I know is, when one leg goes up, my arms start waving crazily and all bets are off. I am going to be drenched in sweat at the end of the simplest balance pose.

If you can’t balance, it’s not the end of the world IF you’re doing other things to compensate for mobility and flexibility. And even my weak, sorry *kitten* efforts at balance have had some value. I’ve had two near falls lately that I attribute my “saves” to my learned balance. Go figure.

I'm very similar! I've been working really hard at yoga for the past year (have taken classes for a few years but got serious this year) and I really struggle with one leg poses. I do Vinyasa Flow and Twisted 4 times per week.

I, too, am in good shape and flexible, but my lack of balance is due to an inner ear issue I've had since I was little. I still keep working on my balance though because it is important but I'll never be interested in inverted poses since they just make me dizzy.

NorthCascades

Tried this again on the ground, my calves eventually get sore, I called it "good enough" after 3 minutes on one leg.

Azdak

NorthCascades wrote: »

Azdak wrote: »

Start with one-leg balancing. Then do it with arms outstretched in front of your.

Then try it with your eyes closed.

Going from a hard floor to a pillow can sometimes be a big jump. You can go in-between by using a folded towel.

But the general concept is sound and important for full long-term recovery.

It's much harder with eyes closed!

The doctor told me to progress up to 30 seconds (which felt "too" easy the first time) then add a pillow, then two, then a wobble board.

I asked if I could do single leg (Romanian? Russian?) deadlifts instead, the nurse made a face, the doctor said "I guess so." I'm not really clear on whether that will put too much stress on the tendon or not, but if the doctor didn't say no, I'm inclined to do these instead. They're helpful for cross country skiing. You come down hills in XC, you just have to go up them first; taking a corner coming down hill on one ski feels similar to a SLDL. I use one arm, opposite the leg I raise, other arm at my side.

You can do RDLs, but I would do them in addition to, rather than as a substitute for the other exercises. The balance characteristics are not the same and the RDL is really more centered in glutes and hamstrings. I forget the details of your injury, but my understanding is that this is primarily training for the peroneal muscles. Doing RDLs on a firm surface is not going to do the same thing. You want to be standing (without shoes, probably) on unstable surfaces that force those muscles to fire off to keep you stable.

And you don't have to lift the leg very high--breaking contact with the ground is most of the stimulus. Lifting the foot 12" higher adds a little, but not much. You want to make sure that if you are doing any time of leg movements, that they are slow, controlled, your core is tight and stable, and all the work is focused on the foot. It's one of those things that looks almost silly simple, but I think you will be both surprised and pleased and how much you learn about body positioning and core control.

puffbrat

Azdak wrote: »

I know some of this is just for fun, but, to be clear, the point is not to see hold long you can hold the pose. It’s to challenge your proprioceptors and neural pathways to improve stability in the joint. Once you have done that, longer duration is not necessary. Being able to hold a position for 2 min does not mean you are better off than someone who just did it for 30 seconds and then did something else. It’s better to do either more repetitions or more challenging poses. It’s the same with planks.

This is great information!

NorthCascades

Azdak wrote: »

NorthCascades wrote: »

Azdak wrote: »

Start with one-leg balancing. Then do it with arms outstretched in front of your.

Then try it with your eyes closed.

Going from a hard floor to a pillow can sometimes be a big jump. You can go in-between by using a folded towel.

But the general concept is sound and important for full long-term recovery.

It's much harder with eyes closed!

The doctor told me to progress up to 30 seconds (which felt "too" easy the first time) then add a pillow, then two, then a wobble board.

I asked if I could do single leg (Romanian? Russian?) deadlifts instead, the nurse made a face, the doctor said "I guess so." I'm not really clear on whether that will put too much stress on the tendon or not, but if the doctor didn't say no, I'm inclined to do these instead. They're helpful for cross country skiing. You come down hills in XC, you just have to go up them first; taking a corner coming down hill on one ski feels similar to a SLDL. I use one arm, opposite the leg I raise, other arm at my side.

You can do RDLs, but I would do them in addition to, rather than as a substitute for the other exercises. The balance characteristics are not the same and the RDL is really more centered in glutes and hamstrings. I forget the details of your injury, but my understanding is that this is primarily training for the peroneal muscles. Doing RDLs on a firm surface is not going to do the same thing. You want to be standing (without shoes, probably) on unstable surfaces that force those muscles to fire off to keep you stable.

And you don't have to lift the leg very high--breaking contact with the ground is most of the stimulus. Lifting the foot 12" higher adds a little, but not much. You want to make sure that if you are doing any time of leg movements, that they are slow, controlled, your core is tight and stable, and all the work is focused on the foot. It's one of those things that looks almost silly simple, but I think you will be both surprised and pleased and how much you learn about body positioning and core control.

I only get so much time with the doctor and have lots of questions, so I can't begin to tell you how much I appreciate you filling in some of the gaps. 🙂

I tried a folded towel, it doesn't create enough instability to make this a challenge. The cat walking around me does!

This (peroneal tendinitis, both sides) came on after a 26 continuous hour hike followed by a bad car accident on the way home. I think it's from impact during the crash, actually I'm almost certain of it, but it's impossible to know with complete certainty. I don't remember my feet hurting even a little when I finished the hike, but it was terrible immediately after the crash, even with IV morphine. There was enough impact for the seatbelt to break a rib and puncture a lung. Both of those injuries are 100% better, the tendinitis is a lot better, still ranges from sore to painful. I have specialized boots, and orthotics to help take load off the tendon, I'm mostly staying off my feet, and I'm about to start round 2 of oral prednisolone.

amy19355

I have a 2” thick pad that I stood on tonight for my balance exercise. WHAT A DIFFERENCE! I didn’t have nearly as many of the creaking noises in my lower back and I did 10 raises on each leg and definitely felt the core and leg muscles more cooperatively engaged.

colorfulcoquette

I try to do various things to work on my balance and one silly thing I do is putting my socks and sneakers on while standing up. The socks aren't a challenge at all but pulling the sneaker on, then tightening and tying the laces makes it a bit harder.

AnnPT77

colorfulcoquette wrote: »

I try to do various things to work on my balance and one silly thing I do is putting my socks and sneakers on while standing up. The socks aren't a challenge at all but pulling the sneaker on, then tightening and tying the laces makes it a bit harder.

Commenting just for fun, because I think my personal experience is kind of whacky/funny: When I undress for a massage, I have no trouble pulling off my socks while standing on one leg (and think I could put them back on again similarly quite easily).

After the massage, though . . . there's no putting on the socks without at least leaning on something if not sitting down completely.

NorthCascades

I must be too heavy, with a throw pillow on a folded towel I can get a stable enough platform to stand on one leg for minutes. Might have to go straight to the wobble board.

maureenkhilde

I still practice this. Went through rehab for lower back/hip issue this year. So first was to ptractice 30 seconds for each foot. But key I was told, stand up straight, shoulders back, no slouching (I was guilty of this). And the foot that was being held up could not touch other leg or foot in any way.
Once I could do on either foot for 1 minute, progressed to getting on a memory foam cushion one foot in front of another and holding for two minutes.. Then same cushion and doing for one minute and changing back and forth.
Last one was being able to do on a wobble ball.

Sure was easier to do with strong leg, opposed to one we were working on. I still practice the balancing with an old pillow to keep the weaker leg from regressing. As well as just lifting up a bit.

Theoldguy1

NorthCascades wrote: »

I must be too heavy, with a throw pillow on a folded towel I can get a stable enough platform to stand on one leg for minutes. Might have to go straight to the wobble board.

Look at Airex pads about $60 or knockoffs aroind $20 both on Amazon.

aokoye

NorthCascades wrote: »

Azdak wrote: »

Start with one-leg balancing. Then do it with arms outstretched in front of your.

Then try it with your eyes closed.

Going from a hard floor to a pillow can sometimes be a big jump. You can go in-between by using a folded towel.

But the general concept is sound and important for full long-term recovery.

It's much harder with eyes closed!

The doctor told me to progress up to 30 seconds (which felt "too" easy the first time) then add a pillow, then two, then a wobble board.

I asked if I could do single leg (Romanian? Russian?) deadlifts instead, the nurse made a face, the doctor said "I guess so." I'm not really clear on whether that will put too much stress on the tendon or not, but if the doctor didn't say no, I'm inclined to do these instead. They're helpful for cross country skiing. You come down hills in XC, you just have to go up them first; taking a corner coming down hill on one ski feels similar to a SLDL. I use one arm, opposite the leg I raise, other arm at my side.

I think a wobble board or a bosu (if you have access to one) would actually be significantly harder than the single leg deadlift unless it's a single leg deadlift on a bosu or wobble board. Are you seeing a physical therapist yet? I haven't really been keeping up on what's going on in terms of your recovery, but I think the progression that I mentioned above would potentially make more sense.

avalonblues

I never heard of this as a thing - I just balanced 2 min., 15 sec. on my weak side leg & could have gone longer (it's pretty boring). I tend though to agree with whoever said it above that once you can balance on one leg about 30 sec., going any longer doesn't prove a whole lot.

rainbow198

I have great balance and I work on it several times per week. I've never timed myself though. Making a mental note because I'm curious!

Concentrating on one spot in the room helps me to focus and based on my single leg deadlifts and using my bosu ball I know I can go longer on my right side compared to my left side.

kshama2001

AnnPT77 wrote: »

Pick up the foot how far? That makes a big difference for me. Up 1/2", standing still, I can do it on my best side for a fairly long time, probably 2-3 minutes (?), possibly longer (haven't timed it).

Context: A while back, I decided my balance needed work, and one of my ways of working on it was to stand on one foot while waiting in line (grocery store, theater, whatever). The 1/2"-up version can be done without looking too eccentric, so I do that a lot. If I don't care how eccentric I look, I pick it up further, swing the up foot back and forth or around in a circle; or switch my (quite heavy) purse from one side to another or swing it to create imbalance, etc. Any of those things - including just raising the foot 6"+ - reduces the duration significantly. Thirty seconds while moving the foot around would be pretty good.

I mean, I'm not doing anything else while waiting in line, right?

https://posturemovementpain.com/2014/01/30/how-long-should-i-be-able-to-balance-on-one-leg/

...Test Yourself

-Stand barefoot

-Cross the arms over the chest

-Focus on a spot on the wall in front of you at eye level for eyes open testing

-Raise one leg such that the raised foot is near but not touching the ankle of the stance limb

-Begin the timer when the foot leaves the ground

-Stop the timer when you either 1) uncross the arms 2) move the raised foot away from the standing limb or touch it to the ground 3) Move the weight bearing foot to maintain balance

-Repeat the test the same way with eyes closed, stop the timer if you open your eyes.

-Record the best of three trials

The Results

A strong relationship was found between advancing age and declining balance. Eyes open balance stays in the 40s range until age 50 then begins to drop by about 10 seconds for each decade after 60. Eyes closed balance is a third of the duration of eyes open balance and drops by about 4 seconds each decade after age 50. The average of 15 seconds with eyes closed for 18-39 an year old surprised me, it was much less than I had been taught.

Detailed results are below, see how you compare.

kshama2001

I wouldn't call me normal, as I have wide feet and lots of years of yoga, but here's my results from May:

kshama2001 wrote: »

lms_938 wrote: »

I’ve been on HRT for about nine years, under medical supervision and advice. I have had balance problems in that I feel a bit unsteady sometimes when I’m walking, which is my main exercise. (I do about three miles a day.) I haven’t sought advice about it and did not specifically think of it as tied to the menopause. However I’ve been doing balance exercises for quite a few months now and that seems to have sorted it out. I also do a balance test about once a month. I found this on a reputable website, although I can’t do the link at the moment, but you simply time how long you can stand on one leg with your eyes closed. The website gives a table showing the average expected time by age group. You might that useful / interesting. I hope this is helpful, although it might be wise to check with the doctor if you are concerned about it.

Here's a link with how to test yourself. It has ages and times for both eyes open and closed.

• Eyes open I came down at 3:30, more because I was bored and my leg hurt, than because I lost my balance.
• Eyes closed I first did on my other leg, which has a bad knee, and came down at 37 seconds. Rested a bit, and then did my good leg, for 53 seconds. According to the chart, for my age, it should have been 5-8 seconds. Thank you wide feet and decades of yoga, although I haven't regularly done balancing poses for years

https://posturemovementpain.com/2014/01/30/how-long-should-i-be-able-to-balance-on-one-leg/