Video and Transcript: Balance Pad Exercises

Hi guys! Doctor Orit Hickman here from Pain Science Physical Therapy. And I'm here to do a follow-up on my last video that was on balance and using the balance pad for developing balance.

There are so many exercises that we can do with a balance pad and they’re -- if you Google them -- they’re really inexpensive. So, you can find some for as inexpensive as like $20 and they're great. We have a little bit more industrial-type pads in the clinic and that’s because they get a lot more use. 

So, I'm going to go through kind of a very simple series of exercises that we do with patients who are having issues with balance. And, as a reminder, balance difficulties can start pretty young. So, it doesn't have to be -- the person doesn't have to be someone who's older. It really can be somebody as young as 40s and 50s that we can see changes in balance start to happen. And, if you have a history with sinus infections or inner ear problems, then you already know what it's like to be a little off center, a little bound, a little dizzy. So, these exercises are great for you as well. So, it's not just for the older population. And I myself have dealt on and off with inner ear issues, so I have a stick off to the side here to just help me with balance in case I am a little unsteady today.

So, one of the easiest things you can do for a balance standpoint is actually practicing transitioning from one surface to another. So, practicing stepping onto a soft surface and back off again, either doing it front to back just like this, and switching feet is really important. So, something like this. I don't know if you caught that but my left toe caught the back edge. Or the other option is of course stepping over, coming around, and practicing stepping up and stepping off again. Alright, so this is a great activity, very simple to do. 

If you want to challenge balance a little bit more, you can actually step up and over the foam pad. And ideally, when you do that, what you want to try not to do is spend the whole time looking down. You would look down, kind of get a sense of what you need to do, and then step up and over. One of the things that is really a challenge when you're dealing with balance difficulties is that the tendency is to start to really use your visual system to get cues from the environment so that you don't fall over. Problem with that is that you're usually kind of tunnel vision with your visual system. So, you're looking down and maybe right ahead of you but not looking all around you to see what's happening. So, the more confidence that you can gain in your joints and in your limbs, the better you will be at seeing all the things around you that are potentially hazards for falls.

So, the next thing we're going to do is we're going to -- I’m going to have you step up onto the foam pad and you're going to start with your feet really close together. So, this may or may not be a challenge. For me, I can already feel my feet working, rocking a little bit. In order to make this a little bit more of a challenge for myself, I can do several things. The easiest thing would be actually to turn my head side-to-side. So, I don't know if you can see it, but my feet are actually starting to wiggle a little bit just from turning my head side-to-side. So, I am and it's getting harder for me to stay upright, turn my head side-to-side, and talk to you guys at the same time. So, turning your head side-to-side can make that a challenge. Now, if that's too much of a challenge just to stand with your feet close together, then don't add in the head-turning. If you want, you can go back to having your feet just about hip width apart. And if that feels pretty easy, then you can challenge that activity by adding in head-turning. 

The other thing that you can do from this position is you can look up, and you can look down again. This challenges the muscles, and the feet, and then the lower legs to keeping you upright. If that's not a challenge or it's too easy and you want to make it harder, you go to a narrow base of support and you do the same thing -- head up and down again. My feet are working. I have nobody here to catch me, so I better not fall over because you guys will see it on camera.

I think in the last video I think I put in there about that you could also close your eyes. That is a big challenge. Sometimes just standing, again eyes closed, feet close together, that’s a challenge. If I then want to make myself work really hard, already this is really hard, then I could add in head-turning. So, that work right there, I strongly recommend that no matter what you do from a balance standpoint that you stand near something that you could hold onto and you don't do it like me. Free fall until you feel comfortable to do it, but by itself. You can see I'm not 65 years old. In fact, I'm 44 years old and it’s hard for me to stand with my feet close together and my eyes closed and turning my head side-to-side. So, that's a lot of work. So, it's a challenge from a balance standpoint. 

Next thing that you can work on is you can work on just standing on one leg. Again, something to be done near something. Sometimes all it takes is just putting your fingers down, a finger or two on a surface. You can see my foot keeps coming down ,so this is hard for me. So, I'm actually not going to make this harder by closing my eyes or trying to move my head because I promise you I will fall over and I don't want that caught on film.

And, so one of the things you want to do is make sure that you also switch between feet. Alright, so that you can see that my right foot is more stable. I have a history of -- I had a left ankle sprain many, many, many years ago and I think my left ankle is still not strong. So, I think I have to start doing these exercises. Don't tell my PTs. They don't want to -- they're going to give me more. They're excited. 

So, yeah. So, this is a really -- these are great exercises. These are simple to do. When you do these at home, you probably want to spend you know maybe not more than 15 to 30 seconds in each position, or at least practicing each of those and work up in time. Your goal would be to be able to maintain each position for 30 seconds to a minute without a loss of balance. Clearly, I have some homework to do. 

I hope this was helpful. If you guys have any questions, thoughts, concerns, please list them below. Make sure to check with your physical therapist before you put on and start doing a new exercise routine. If you liked this video, please give it a thumbs up. I really appreciate it and I hope you guys have a great day. Thanks!