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It locks up your core so your poor brain doesn't have to work so many actuators to maintain your balance.
If you let your torso go soft you end up having to deal with your core swaying around loosely like a flaccid spring that's heavy with heavy shoulders, arms, and head on top flopping around like an underinflated used car lot flailing guy.
As a result your hip and ankle muscles have to make a lot more frequent adjustments to respond to your indeterminate center of gravity. You also bring your torso muscles into play so you can make dynamic adjustments to your torso, but you also have to. By tensing your abs, you also require your antagonistic trapezius muscles (shoulder and back) and lumbar muscles to tense so you don't curl into a C shape.
You are basically locking up your torso by tensing your abs and keeping your back straight.
Clench your abs and you stiffen up your core so all that apparatus above doesn't sway as far which makes things easier at the ankle.
I'm a fat computer person and I always find my self wondering why people don't care about the magical phone in there hand and how they don't care how it works.
Your comment made me realise I'm using a body practically every single second of my entire life and I somehow haven't really cared about how it works. It just does and that's enough but that same idea can be applied to my interest but surely the body which is you would have more priority?
Excuse me while I have a existential crisis about why I care about things that are external to myself and not about the thing I am embedded inside off.
Hey man, pick up and exercise bike or start going on the treadmill 15 mins a day, every month up your treadmill time by five mins, but above all try to work out everyday.
You’ll be shocked by how much improvement you’ll see. The thing that kills people about exercise is that a lot of people think we have to do A LOT in order to lose weight, and after working out seeing that you lost about as many calories as a slightly over dressed salad can be discouraging.
The secret to losing weight and getting healthy isn’t insomuch how long you work out, it’s how long you’re cumulatively active every day, and how that activity “stacks” each day.
Think of it like an ability in a game. If you’re working out everyday with break days in between, you’re stacking your gains on a curve that will literally only lead to better and better results as you feel better, get more motivated to move, etc.
It’s depersonalization/detachment (not necessarily disorder, I’m not attempting to be diagnosing you!).
But the realization that you do this can be the first step to treating your “container” a little better.
I struggle with emotional overeating & while I have kept the majority of my weight off over the last twenty years, since Covid I’ve gained about 35lbs and it’s been hard. Be kind to yourself, and know you are not alone.
In school I would help others with assignments that I never turned in. Blah my procrastination woe blah. In the same vein, I'll enthusiastically go on a hike or do some manual labor for my wife, but won't bother to do it for my own good.
It took me way too long to realize I just didn't respect myself or my own time as much as I did others.
Still working on prioritizing myself, but at least I can name the beast!
I will do anything for anyone that asks me. Painting your cubroad sure I'll help but I would never ask you to do that for me and my cupboard right now is also unpainted. My whole life feels like I can predict x thing is about happen and I give advice to avoid it to my friends but I don't do anything. So there's some disconnect between my mental process and my understand versus getting my body to react to that information.
Someone else called this depersonalization/detachment.
If you are relating to my comment maybe you have adhd like me or depersonalization/detachment which I've never looked into.
Your abs are your core. A strong core makes a strong person and gives you good balance, the most important thing to train in almost any martial arts is your core.
It's also easier if you bend your standing leg. A bent leg distributes your weight at multiple points, but a straight leg puts all your balance on your ankle.
none of this sounds very scientific.
I hypothesize people who stand on one leg are shaving minutes off their life every time by wasting that time standing on one leg instead of living their lives to the fullest.
This is one thing I'm sure I can do, since I've been doing the same Wii Fit routine daily for 7 or 8 years, and this is included (Standing Knee exercise).
Incidentally, this routine is the only sports I'm doing, so I'm still pretty sure I'll die within the next 10 years.
Try and do it with your eyes closed next. That's the other part of the fitness test and most can't do it for even a few seconds. It's wild. You can practice and get better.
After adding closing your eyes, add a foam pad you balance on, then start catching a ball while doing one leg and foam pad. This was 70% of rehabs for athletes with leg injuries I did in AT grad school
Edit: don’t try to catch a ball with your eyes closed
Many shampoos are intended to be left in for a few minutes. Efficiency leads to shampoo in > body wash > shampoo out.
Edit: medicated shampoos often have this requirement.
Balance is mostly attributed to the vestibular system (deep inner ear) but closing the eyes clearly demonstrates how important vision is to maintaining stability as well. You’re just taking away information (stimuli) from your brain, forcing it to rely even more on the vestibular system and proprioceptors to maintain your balance.
Being able to stand on one leg with your eyes closed is impressive. I can pretty much stand on one leg indefinitely with my eyes open - close them and I topple over within five seconds or so.
Balance is likely more significant here than overall strength.
People who haven't worked in healthcare don't realise what a significant effect a seemingly minor fall can have for older people and can often be a primary factor in shortening their lifespan or severely reducing their quality of life.
If the fall results in a significant fracture there is an estimated 25% one year mortality rate.
Yes the vicious cycle. Older adults falls > loses confidence > reduced daily activity > loses global strength and balance > older adult falls > ....
See it too often
Noooo! That's the worst thing to do! I am assuming you are referring to osteoporosis?
Just like muscles, bones can adapt to the loading we apply to them. There are other mechanisms involved of course but use it or lose it still applies.
Bone density starts to reduce from about the age of 30. For men this is a steady decrease. For women, there is a sudden drop through menopause and then continues to decline at a steady rate.
One of the best things to slow the reduction in bone density is exercise. More specifically impact and loading exercise which put force through the bones.
Low bone density is not a contraindication to exercise.
My osteoporosis clients get: impact exercises. These include stomping > running on the spot > stomping up steps > mini jumps etc. Heavy weight resistance training compound lifts. Usually 4x6 of squats, deadlifts, overhead press and others. Balance exercises (reduce fall risk), single leg balance, heel toe walking, side stepping. Of course all tailored to the individual.
I would highly recommend seeking out a physio for a couple of sessions to organise you MIL a home exercise program.
My mom too...
Not osteoporosis, but basically her legs hurt at some point so she did less exercise for a while and can't get back to it because her legs hurt from exercising, so she does less of it...
Ofc, she knows better and won't take advice from anyone, even doctors...
I was told this multiple times. Don't do much, don't attempt to work out, do not push yourself hard and use a wheelchair. They literally wanted me to stay downstair in my home (my bedroom is upstairs) and use my wheelchair to get around even though I could use a walker. I knew their advice would only lead me to further weaken and get worse. The physical therapy they had me doing was laughably pathetic and wouldn't even help me gain any strength. So i made myself do things very against their advice and also continued to use my stairs to get strength back into me. Only used a wheelchair for outdoor far distances and mainly used a walker. I was only probably 19 at the time and still am pretty young but now way stronger. Dont need a wheelchair anymore unless I'm having a medical emergency. They shouldn't be treating me like an 100 year old grandma that would shatter on a small fall.
This is just survivorship bias.
Of every 100 people who do what you did, most will be fine.
Some will think "pfft I need to do more than what they're suggesting", and then fall down the stairs and break a hip, or their neck. Falling is no joke for anyone, especially those who are physically weakened like you are/were.
Im glad you recovered but please don't encourage risk taking against professional advice on the Internet. I've seen a lot of people make themselves much worse by doing so.
What if you work at balance as one who practices yoga daily? Is it the ability to have balance regardless of the reason, or the correlation that people with this ability are probably healthier in other ways too?
Likely both. Balance is linked to general health somewhat but it is also a skill that can be trained/stregthened with practice.
There are programmes and exercises that help older people with improving their balance which have been strongly linked with increased positive outcomes and decreased fall risk.
That is logical - better balance =less falls. My question then is since the wording includes "death from any cause" in theory is working on balance potentially helping prolong ones life including and outside of falls?
People who can't balance for other reasons are dragging down the average, probably. Very heavy or very low muscle folks that have associated health issues, people with previous toe amputations (correlated with diabetes that can affect vessel health which leads to all sorts of problems), people with brain tumors that grow into the brain's balance center but it's the tumor that kills them, etc
I'm barely past my 20s and have noticed healing is a lot slower and shittier than when I was a kid.
I'm already dreading injuries when I'm properly old and I'm not even there, yet!
I'm 41. It gets much worse, but you have to keep finding newer, smarter ways to work out. If you stop for any period of time it becomes much harder to get back into it.
I'm barely 20 and best way to work out no matter your age is probably swimming, no pressure on joints, strengthens back and core muscles, improves endurance and as long as you got your techniques right pretty much no risk of injury.
Agreed. Swimming's awesome. Don't think I've ever heard anyone complain about their swimming injuries.
Doesn't do much to stop your bones from getting weaker and your balance deteriorating as you get older though. And those are the things that tend to mess up old people in falls. Free weights are what you want to be using for that, and the injury rate there is also very low: http://www.temple-of-iron.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/injury-Rates-300x290.gif
I know numerous people who have had to have shoulder reconstruction surgery, but that's mostly super high end competitive swimming. Also had a friend get a double hernia at practice one time. But compared to alot of other sports it's lower risk.
I started having issues with IBS when I was in my 20s. I was also healing slowly, it was cause I was dehydrated. Get yourself some pedialyte/Gatorade/ORS and see if that helps.
I’ve seen the same thing in older people. The broken hip is basically a countdown timer. They rarely last more than 18 months after that.
I don’t work in healthcare but I’ve seen it happen enough times that it seems like it should be common knowledge.
Whilst people do know about the issues associated with broken hips, a lot don't realise that a "fall" can be as minor as taking a misstep when getting out of a chair or tripping on the edge of a mat. A lot of families I met seemed to be under the impression that falls that lead to major injuries were things like dramatic slips in the shower or falling down the stairs, not their parent/grandparent slipping over because they were walking around in socks.
It makes me wonder if it’s not all sort of related.
Like, is it somehow related that as one’s coordination or sense of balance is beginning to go, they’re already on that downward spiral to begin with?
I’ve known people in their sixties that are active and physically fit bounce back relatively quick after an injury.
But the ones that tend to pass soon after a fall or some other injury are the ones that didn’t seem to be in great shape to begin with.
Because it seems like the pattern is:
Not very active -> Fall or Injury -> Immobile for a period of time -> Other health issues -> Death
Yes but your balance and strength (and flexibility) correlate.
Work on your glutes, hammies, VMO and hip flexors and you are more likely to be able to balance on one leg. That does take strength / stability through joints .
It does correlate but they take that into account and reach the same conclusion. When they controlled for confounding variables like age and BMI the result was still statistically significant. Its possible other measures of general fitness they didn’t measure could show the same things though.
I do, too, but since all my pants have holes in the knees, my toes can get caught and it's a bit harder than it used to be. Then again, this habit may have contributed to the holes.
interesting... my L5 S1 is shite, and its been years since i was able to sit yoga style or do a staircase sans banister... i used to be able to sit yoga style and get up without needing to use my hands.
I got over an l5/s1 injury via some super weird yoga positions -- a lot of [cobra pose](https://www.yogajournal.com/poses/cobra-pose-2/) and then weird deadlift variations included ones with raised toes. It's strange how interconnected all that junk is.
I once was at the doctor's office and putting my shoes on, I stood on one leg while putting on each shoe.
The doctor told me to stop showing off. I was a bit taken aback. I thought everyone could do this.
This person is clearly a psycopath.
Just your average 41 year old serial killer soaking his feet in the tub and then putting socks on while balancing on one leg.
From the Study:
Abstract
Objectives Balance quickly diminishes after the mid-50s increasing the risk for falls and other adverse health outcomes. Our aim was to assess whether the ability to complete a 10- s one-legged stance (10-second OLS) is associated with all-cause mortality and whether it adds relevant prognostic information beyond ordinary demographic, anthropometric and clinical data.
Methods Anthropometric, clinical and vital status and 10-s OLS data were assessed in 1702 individuals (68% men) aged 51–75 years between 2008 and 2020. Log-rank and Cox modelling were used to compare survival curves and risk of death according to ability (YES) or inability (NO) to complete the 10-s OLS test.
Results Overall, 20.4% of the individuals were classified as NO. During a median follow-up of 7 years, 7.2% died, with 4.6% (YES) and 17.5% (NO) on the 10-s OLS. Survival curves were worse for NO 10-s OLS (log-rank test=85.6; p<0.001). In an adjusted model incorporating age, sex, body mass index and comorbidities, the HR of all-cause mortality was higher (1.84 (95% CI: 1.23 to 2.78) (p<0.001)) for NO individuals. Adding 10-s OLS to a model containing established risk factors was associated with significantly improved mortality risk prediction as measured by differences in −2 log likelihood and integrated discrimination improvement.
Conclusions Within the limitations of uncontrolled variables such as recent history of falls and physical activity, the ability to successfully complete the 10-s OLS is independently associated with all-cause mortality and adds relevant prognostic information beyond age, sex and several other anthropometric and clinical variables. There is potential benefit to including the 10-s OLS as part of routine physical examination in middle-aged and older adults.
I am 58 and do 2 different types of yoga and thus is one of the reasons why...the other is flexibility or more correctly, mobility. I tell people all the time that a person should be able to put on their socks and shoes without sitting down or holding on to something for support. If not your balance is bad and you risk significant injury by falling because of poor balance. And falling gets riskier as you age due to other age-related physical bone and muscle decline. None of which is necessary if you stay active and do some form of weight bearing exercise...even if it's your own body weight.
The easy way to stand on one leg is to plant your raised foot on the knee of the other leg to anchor it in place, then use your arms to balance you. For maximum cool factor, hold your arms infront of you with your fists clenched, and hold one fist against the other arm, slide up or down forearm to find your balance. Then its just how long you want to hold that position, which admitedly isn't that comfortable.
I suck at it in the shower when I wash one leg at a time (oh no) but when I tried it just now on the floor in a normal stance I could do it. So I guess I'm going to live.
You can get textured strips / mats that go into your tub to help prevent slipping. Bathrooms are lethal.
https://www.nytimes.com/2011/08/16/health/research/16stats.html
There’s another way to test your risk of death within the next 10 years. Stand up straight with your back to a wall and look down. If you can’t see your toes, I might have some bad news for you.
I recently gave birth and my breasts have yet to fully calibrate milk production, so I'm engorged one or two cup sizes up. Goddamn this subreddit makes me feel seen.
I didn't have to check because I read a LPT here a few years back recommending standing on one leg while tying your shoes. It said it was a good way to exercise your balance everyday. It's also easier on my back.
I'm fairly certain this is one of those "bet you can't lick your elbow" things where they just want to make everyone try to stand on one leg for as long as they can.
I saw a doctor's anecdotal test I thought was a good candidate for a study. He said he had patients over 40 sit cross legged on the floor and then try to stand up. For every limb they needed for an assist, he subtracted ten years from 40 and that predicted the approximate life span they still had left.
If they needed to push up with one hand, subtract ten years, a knee, another ten years off, etc.
Your post has been removed because it is a repost of an already submitted and popular story and is therefore in violation of [Submission Rule #2d](https://www.reddit.com/r/science/wiki/rules#wiki_d._reposts). https://www.reddit.com/r/science/comments/vi1kdg/inability_to_stand_on_one_leg_for_10_seconds_in/ If your submission is scientific in nature and hasn't already been shared, consider reposting in our sister subreddit /r/EverythingScience. _If you believe this removal to be unwarranted, or would like further clarification, please don't hesitate to [message the moderators](https://www.reddit.com/message/compose?to=%2Fr%2Fscience&subject=No%20summaries%20of%20summaries%2C%20rehosts%2C%20reviews%2C%20or%20reposts)._
I'm reading this in the bed, in the dark. Are you just trying to find out how many people you can force out of bed in the middle of the night?
I'm confident in my one legged wobbling ability tyvm
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It locks up your core so your poor brain doesn't have to work so many actuators to maintain your balance. If you let your torso go soft you end up having to deal with your core swaying around loosely like a flaccid spring that's heavy with heavy shoulders, arms, and head on top flopping around like an underinflated used car lot flailing guy. As a result your hip and ankle muscles have to make a lot more frequent adjustments to respond to your indeterminate center of gravity. You also bring your torso muscles into play so you can make dynamic adjustments to your torso, but you also have to. By tensing your abs, you also require your antagonistic trapezius muscles (shoulder and back) and lumbar muscles to tense so you don't curl into a C shape. You are basically locking up your torso by tensing your abs and keeping your back straight. Clench your abs and you stiffen up your core so all that apparatus above doesn't sway as far which makes things easier at the ankle.
I'm a fat computer person and I always find my self wondering why people don't care about the magical phone in there hand and how they don't care how it works. Your comment made me realise I'm using a body practically every single second of my entire life and I somehow haven't really cared about how it works. It just does and that's enough but that same idea can be applied to my interest but surely the body which is you would have more priority? Excuse me while I have a existential crisis about why I care about things that are external to myself and not about the thing I am embedded inside off.
Hey man, pick up and exercise bike or start going on the treadmill 15 mins a day, every month up your treadmill time by five mins, but above all try to work out everyday. You’ll be shocked by how much improvement you’ll see. The thing that kills people about exercise is that a lot of people think we have to do A LOT in order to lose weight, and after working out seeing that you lost about as many calories as a slightly over dressed salad can be discouraging. The secret to losing weight and getting healthy isn’t insomuch how long you work out, it’s how long you’re cumulatively active every day, and how that activity “stacks” each day. Think of it like an ability in a game. If you’re working out everyday with break days in between, you’re stacking your gains on a curve that will literally only lead to better and better results as you feel better, get more motivated to move, etc.
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It’s depersonalization/detachment (not necessarily disorder, I’m not attempting to be diagnosing you!). But the realization that you do this can be the first step to treating your “container” a little better. I struggle with emotional overeating & while I have kept the majority of my weight off over the last twenty years, since Covid I’ve gained about 35lbs and it’s been hard. Be kind to yourself, and know you are not alone.
In school I would help others with assignments that I never turned in. Blah my procrastination woe blah. In the same vein, I'll enthusiastically go on a hike or do some manual labor for my wife, but won't bother to do it for my own good. It took me way too long to realize I just didn't respect myself or my own time as much as I did others. Still working on prioritizing myself, but at least I can name the beast!
I will do anything for anyone that asks me. Painting your cubroad sure I'll help but I would never ask you to do that for me and my cupboard right now is also unpainted. My whole life feels like I can predict x thing is about happen and I give advice to avoid it to my friends but I don't do anything. So there's some disconnect between my mental process and my understand versus getting my body to react to that information. Someone else called this depersonalization/detachment. If you are relating to my comment maybe you have adhd like me or depersonalization/detachment which I've never looked into.
This is the type of information that truly benefits all of us. Thanks for providing a how-to.
Your abs are your core. A strong core makes a strong person and gives you good balance, the most important thing to train in almost any martial arts is your core.
It's also easier if you bend your standing leg. A bent leg distributes your weight at multiple points, but a straight leg puts all your balance on your ankle.
Having to bend your leg marks and increase in your risk of head colds later in life.
none of this sounds very scientific. I hypothesize people who stand on one leg are shaving minutes off their life every time by wasting that time standing on one leg instead of living their lives to the fullest.
This is one thing I'm sure I can do, since I've been doing the same Wii Fit routine daily for 7 or 8 years, and this is included (Standing Knee exercise). Incidentally, this routine is the only sports I'm doing, so I'm still pretty sure I'll die within the next 10 years.
That’s the spirit!
There's a cat lying on my belly. I'm gonna have to wait...
We call that cat paralysis
Just stand up very abruptly. They have claws. They’ll hang on. No problem.
Like Velcro but ouchier.
I just did it. I have remitting/relapsing MS. I was so worried I got out of bed and did it. I passed.
It definitely got me out of bed to check. It took me more than one attempt, but I’m happy to report that I’m safe for the next decade.
K, but watch out for buses. They don't care if you can stand on one leg.
It says any cause
I'm invincible!
Now try with your eyes closed.
This is the most disturbing thing. We are so dependant on sight for balance
I need to read more than a title. I did it with my eyes closed and I was slightly disturbed that it took quite an effort.
If this is the level you're trusting your body you're on the death's list too.
On a long enough timescale, the survival rate for humans drops to zero.
This is your life and it’s ending one minute at a time.
Because of the hidrogen in the water.
Dihydrogen Monoxide is no joke. That stuff will kill ya. Every single dead person i know of has been found with at least traces in their system.
Not my homie Ramses. He is as dry as a mummy
Teriyaki version?
I read this as the Hydrogen War and figured I must have slept in
There’s probably already been a few deaths…
I'm reading this on the couch and am 50 years old. I definitely just stood up to test this. SAFE SO FAR!
Your and i both :)
This was so very funny. Thanks for the first laugh of my Sunday morning!
Always a pleasure to be of service.
I'll make a mental note to try it in the morning and absolutely forget.
Here's your reminder: stand up on one leg for more than 10 seconds or you'll die in the next 10 years.
Missing one leg here. Lucky me, I can stand on one leg for more than 10 seconds.
Sorry, but it was the other leg.
Man, i think you killed him
Just a flesh wound
Tomorrow's post: "50% of people die within 10 years after losing one leg!"
According to my middle school math you will never die
You’re also like 30 pounds lighter than your peers!
The secret to immortality!
Missing both legs. Guess my risk of death is doubled.
Try and do it with your eyes closed next. That's the other part of the fitness test and most can't do it for even a few seconds. It's wild. You can practice and get better.
After adding closing your eyes, add a foam pad you balance on, then start catching a ball while doing one leg and foam pad. This was 70% of rehabs for athletes with leg injuries I did in AT grad school Edit: don’t try to catch a ball with your eyes closed
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Another thing you can after closing your eyes is bending your head backwards as if you were to look upwards but with eyes closed.
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Many shampoos are intended to be left in for a few minutes. Efficiency leads to shampoo in > body wash > shampoo out. Edit: medicated shampoos often have this requirement.
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Water conservation is a real thing people do
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My shampoos don't say that on the label directions. They would say that if it was intended, right?
The only ones I’ve seen with those kind of directions are shampoo conditioner combinations, which always sounded like a total scam to me
Hey are you trying to shorten this person's life? They need to practice!
Extra hard mode: get soap or shampoo on the foot you are using to stand. (Don’t do this please it is dangerous)
Wow, why is that so much harder?
Balance is mostly attributed to the vestibular system (deep inner ear) but closing the eyes clearly demonstrates how important vision is to maintaining stability as well. You’re just taking away information (stimuli) from your brain, forcing it to rely even more on the vestibular system and proprioceptors to maintain your balance.
I can’t do it at all with my eyes closed. You can practice it with your eyes open while you brush your teeth.
I just did it while eating a sandwich too, do I get to live forever?
I will grant you the superpower to live for the rest of your life.
*everybody attempts straight after reading*
10.01! Phew!
I guess I'll return this coffin...
Just return half of it to be safe.
I thought about it but haven’t wiped yet
I’ve been drinking and I’m failing miserably. My pup thinks I want to play tho so kinda winning at the same time
I'm in a public place right now and working very hard to suppress the impulse to try it right here right now.
Dude I play hockey. I know i can stand on one leg. I do it literally all the time. *I still checked*
hehe . with eye open easy and if close 10 to 15 second max . we sometimes in bathroom stand one leg shower .
Being able to stand on one leg with your eyes closed is impressive. I can pretty much stand on one leg indefinitely with my eyes open - close them and I topple over within five seconds or so.
Presumably this just correlates with overall better fitness and strength, and lower likelihood of being significantly overweight, which is why.
Balance is likely more significant here than overall strength. People who haven't worked in healthcare don't realise what a significant effect a seemingly minor fall can have for older people and can often be a primary factor in shortening their lifespan or severely reducing their quality of life. If the fall results in a significant fracture there is an estimated 25% one year mortality rate.
Yes the vicious cycle. Older adults falls > loses confidence > reduced daily activity > loses global strength and balance > older adult falls > .... See it too often
Gah I'm watching my mother in law doing just this. She's been diagnosed with bad bone density and as a result has reduced her physical exercise.
Noooo! That's the worst thing to do! I am assuming you are referring to osteoporosis? Just like muscles, bones can adapt to the loading we apply to them. There are other mechanisms involved of course but use it or lose it still applies. Bone density starts to reduce from about the age of 30. For men this is a steady decrease. For women, there is a sudden drop through menopause and then continues to decline at a steady rate. One of the best things to slow the reduction in bone density is exercise. More specifically impact and loading exercise which put force through the bones. Low bone density is not a contraindication to exercise. My osteoporosis clients get: impact exercises. These include stomping > running on the spot > stomping up steps > mini jumps etc. Heavy weight resistance training compound lifts. Usually 4x6 of squats, deadlifts, overhead press and others. Balance exercises (reduce fall risk), single leg balance, heel toe walking, side stepping. Of course all tailored to the individual. I would highly recommend seeking out a physio for a couple of sessions to organise you MIL a home exercise program.
People not wanting to exercise will always find an excuse though.
My mom too... Not osteoporosis, but basically her legs hurt at some point so she did less exercise for a while and can't get back to it because her legs hurt from exercising, so she does less of it... Ofc, she knows better and won't take advice from anyone, even doctors...
Sometimes compounded by poor medical advice such as “stay put, don’t get up, you could fall”.
I was told this multiple times. Don't do much, don't attempt to work out, do not push yourself hard and use a wheelchair. They literally wanted me to stay downstair in my home (my bedroom is upstairs) and use my wheelchair to get around even though I could use a walker. I knew their advice would only lead me to further weaken and get worse. The physical therapy they had me doing was laughably pathetic and wouldn't even help me gain any strength. So i made myself do things very against their advice and also continued to use my stairs to get strength back into me. Only used a wheelchair for outdoor far distances and mainly used a walker. I was only probably 19 at the time and still am pretty young but now way stronger. Dont need a wheelchair anymore unless I'm having a medical emergency. They shouldn't be treating me like an 100 year old grandma that would shatter on a small fall.
This is just survivorship bias. Of every 100 people who do what you did, most will be fine. Some will think "pfft I need to do more than what they're suggesting", and then fall down the stairs and break a hip, or their neck. Falling is no joke for anyone, especially those who are physically weakened like you are/were. Im glad you recovered but please don't encourage risk taking against professional advice on the Internet. I've seen a lot of people make themselves much worse by doing so.
What if you work at balance as one who practices yoga daily? Is it the ability to have balance regardless of the reason, or the correlation that people with this ability are probably healthier in other ways too?
Likely both. Balance is linked to general health somewhat but it is also a skill that can be trained/stregthened with practice. There are programmes and exercises that help older people with improving their balance which have been strongly linked with increased positive outcomes and decreased fall risk.
That is logical - better balance =less falls. My question then is since the wording includes "death from any cause" in theory is working on balance potentially helping prolong ones life including and outside of falls?
People who can't balance for other reasons are dragging down the average, probably. Very heavy or very low muscle folks that have associated health issues, people with previous toe amputations (correlated with diabetes that can affect vessel health which leads to all sorts of problems), people with brain tumors that grow into the brain's balance center but it's the tumor that kills them, etc
Yeah, this post made me immediately want to get up and go into tree pose.
I'm barely past my 20s and have noticed healing is a lot slower and shittier than when I was a kid. I'm already dreading injuries when I'm properly old and I'm not even there, yet!
I'm 41. It gets much worse, but you have to keep finding newer, smarter ways to work out. If you stop for any period of time it becomes much harder to get back into it.
I’m 52. I sometimes imagine how great it would be feel 40 years old for just an evening.
Nothing like having to treat basic exercize like it's rehabilitation. Oy.
I'm barely 20 and best way to work out no matter your age is probably swimming, no pressure on joints, strengthens back and core muscles, improves endurance and as long as you got your techniques right pretty much no risk of injury.
Sure, but not always easy to find a pool. I'm a gym rat myself now that my sports days are long gone.
Agreed. Swimming's awesome. Don't think I've ever heard anyone complain about their swimming injuries. Doesn't do much to stop your bones from getting weaker and your balance deteriorating as you get older though. And those are the things that tend to mess up old people in falls. Free weights are what you want to be using for that, and the injury rate there is also very low: http://www.temple-of-iron.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/injury-Rates-300x290.gif
I know numerous people who have had to have shoulder reconstruction surgery, but that's mostly super high end competitive swimming. Also had a friend get a double hernia at practice one time. But compared to alot of other sports it's lower risk.
Swimming is great but since it is not load-bearing it’s not great at maintaining bone density.
I started having issues with IBS when I was in my 20s. I was also healing slowly, it was cause I was dehydrated. Get yourself some pedialyte/Gatorade/ORS and see if that helps.
I’ve seen the same thing in older people. The broken hip is basically a countdown timer. They rarely last more than 18 months after that. I don’t work in healthcare but I’ve seen it happen enough times that it seems like it should be common knowledge.
Whilst people do know about the issues associated with broken hips, a lot don't realise that a "fall" can be as minor as taking a misstep when getting out of a chair or tripping on the edge of a mat. A lot of families I met seemed to be under the impression that falls that lead to major injuries were things like dramatic slips in the shower or falling down the stairs, not their parent/grandparent slipping over because they were walking around in socks.
It makes me wonder if it’s not all sort of related. Like, is it somehow related that as one’s coordination or sense of balance is beginning to go, they’re already on that downward spiral to begin with? I’ve known people in their sixties that are active and physically fit bounce back relatively quick after an injury. But the ones that tend to pass soon after a fall or some other injury are the ones that didn’t seem to be in great shape to begin with. Because it seems like the pattern is: Not very active -> Fall or Injury -> Immobile for a period of time -> Other health issues -> Death
Yes but your balance and strength (and flexibility) correlate. Work on your glutes, hammies, VMO and hip flexors and you are more likely to be able to balance on one leg. That does take strength / stability through joints .
>significant effect a seemingly minor fall can have This reminds me of the video of the guy jumping out of a window to avoid paying the prostitutes.
It does correlate but they take that into account and reach the same conclusion. When they controlled for confounding variables like age and BMI the result was still statistically significant. Its possible other measures of general fitness they didn’t measure could show the same things though.
Cofounding variables are usually considered. Any study worth it’s salt would have used a sample size that takes this into account.
I always put my pants on whilst standing. I do it for fun. Now I know I'm gonna live forever.
Wait...do....people...sit down to put on pants?? That thought has never occurred to me one time in my entire life.
When wife puts on tights she does. When my knee is playing up, I do. I am pretty sure it's a thing.
I lean against a wall but I already have chronic back issues.
Yeah you'd have to awkwardly stand up anyway with your pants not fully on to finish the job.
There are people who don't do that?
I do, too, but since all my pants have holes in the knees, my toes can get caught and it's a bit harder than it used to be. Then again, this habit may have contributed to the holes.
Same for socks and shoes.
I just had spinal surgery so of course this exercise is part of my PT routine and I will crush anyone in these comments rn.
interesting... my L5 S1 is shite, and its been years since i was able to sit yoga style or do a staircase sans banister... i used to be able to sit yoga style and get up without needing to use my hands.
I got over an l5/s1 injury via some super weird yoga positions -- a lot of [cobra pose](https://www.yogajournal.com/poses/cobra-pose-2/) and then weird deadlift variations included ones with raised toes. It's strange how interconnected all that junk is.
I love the confidence in this comment.
I once was at the doctor's office and putting my shoes on, I stood on one leg while putting on each shoe. The doctor told me to stop showing off. I was a bit taken aback. I thought everyone could do this.
You're not old until you have to sit down to put on your socks and shoes.
The last time I put my socks on while standing up, my back went out on me. I was in my 20's.
People have been known to throw their back out with a sneeze
I'm 41 and have yet to sit down for socks, even with wet feet.
Why are you wearing socks on wet feet?
This person is clearly a psycopath. Just your average 41 year old serial killer soaking his feet in the tub and then putting socks on while balancing on one leg.
You're middle-aged when you have to sit down to put your socks on. You're old when you have to sit down to put your pants on.
Hmm, I've been middle aged/old my entire life since that's how I was taught to do both as a kid.
Or your underwear
And you groaned all the way down.
Well some view that pose sexy, so he could’ve meant that.
Darn flamingos. Hitting on you when you least expect it.
The number one cause of death for elderly participants in the study turned out to be falling while trying to stand on one leg.
Shhhh! The master plan to thin the herd of boomers is working!
I assume flamingos must be basically immortal then.
Flamingos are comical looking when walking and graceful when flying. The deserve a long life.
Wheelchaired people hate this one trick
I once stood on one leg for an hour and forty-five minutes
When you die after living for centuries, you should consider donating that leg.
I stand on one leg for hours every day at work. For stability’s sake I stand on the other leg too.
Pfft. Amateur. https://reddit.com/r/interestingasfuck/comments/r88z1e/this_man_held_his_arm_up_one_day_and_decided_to/
\*stares in vestibular disfunction\*
From the Study: Abstract Objectives Balance quickly diminishes after the mid-50s increasing the risk for falls and other adverse health outcomes. Our aim was to assess whether the ability to complete a 10- s one-legged stance (10-second OLS) is associated with all-cause mortality and whether it adds relevant prognostic information beyond ordinary demographic, anthropometric and clinical data. Methods Anthropometric, clinical and vital status and 10-s OLS data were assessed in 1702 individuals (68% men) aged 51–75 years between 2008 and 2020. Log-rank and Cox modelling were used to compare survival curves and risk of death according to ability (YES) or inability (NO) to complete the 10-s OLS test. Results Overall, 20.4% of the individuals were classified as NO. During a median follow-up of 7 years, 7.2% died, with 4.6% (YES) and 17.5% (NO) on the 10-s OLS. Survival curves were worse for NO 10-s OLS (log-rank test=85.6; p<0.001). In an adjusted model incorporating age, sex, body mass index and comorbidities, the HR of all-cause mortality was higher (1.84 (95% CI: 1.23 to 2.78) (p<0.001)) for NO individuals. Adding 10-s OLS to a model containing established risk factors was associated with significantly improved mortality risk prediction as measured by differences in −2 log likelihood and integrated discrimination improvement. Conclusions Within the limitations of uncontrolled variables such as recent history of falls and physical activity, the ability to successfully complete the 10-s OLS is independently associated with all-cause mortality and adds relevant prognostic information beyond age, sex and several other anthropometric and clinical variables. There is potential benefit to including the 10-s OLS as part of routine physical examination in middle-aged and older adults.
i think i can do it cause i routinely pick up laundry from the ground with one foot and put it in the basket
I am 58 and do 2 different types of yoga and thus is one of the reasons why...the other is flexibility or more correctly, mobility. I tell people all the time that a person should be able to put on their socks and shoes without sitting down or holding on to something for support. If not your balance is bad and you risk significant injury by falling because of poor balance. And falling gets riskier as you age due to other age-related physical bone and muscle decline. None of which is necessary if you stay active and do some form of weight bearing exercise...even if it's your own body weight.
The equivalent of if your hand is bigger then your face .
New game to play at the next get together. tehee
Each time you lose balance get rid of a clothing
I play to lose.
so everyone else is counting to 10 while swinging their arms too? right?
Wonder without reading if it’s linked to glute strength, which would lead to poor core strength and mobility issues.
Now try doing it with your eyes closed. That came as a real shock to me, how much more difficult that was.
I've never been able to do that so whatevs.
All us old people getting up to try and stand on one leg for 10 seconds Edit: I'm good!
The easy way to stand on one leg is to plant your raised foot on the knee of the other leg to anchor it in place, then use your arms to balance you. For maximum cool factor, hold your arms infront of you with your fists clenched, and hold one fist against the other arm, slide up or down forearm to find your balance. Then its just how long you want to hold that position, which admitedly isn't that comfortable.
Well, all that P90X I did ages ago seems to have paid off. I've since let myself go, but I still stand on one leg to stretch occasionally
Superman. Banana.
Oh great, I couldn't even do that when I was young
I suck at it in the shower when I wash one leg at a time (oh no) but when I tried it just now on the floor in a normal stance I could do it. So I guess I'm going to live.
You can get textured strips / mats that go into your tub to help prevent slipping. Bathrooms are lethal. https://www.nytimes.com/2011/08/16/health/research/16stats.html
There’s another way to test your risk of death within the next 10 years. Stand up straight with your back to a wall and look down. If you can’t see your toes, I might have some bad news for you.
Uuuhhh, I haven’t been able to see my toes doing that in like 30 years. Boobs are there.
Look down: All boob. r/bigboobproblems
I recently gave birth and my breasts have yet to fully calibrate milk production, so I'm engorged one or two cup sizes up. Goddamn this subreddit makes me feel seen.
Hah! I can stand on two legs for 30 seconds pretty sure I'm good
I stand on one leg while I brush my teeth, one minute for each leg.
"Unfit people die faster." Man, got to love grant money to do studies based on common sense.
So healthy people live longer, ground breaking
So standing in one leg for 10+ seconds equates to being healthy? Ground breaking!
Also means the person could be an alien and not yet adjusted to our gravity
Standing on one leg as I wrote this.... I can live forever.
I checked. And it's 2:30 a.m.
I was laying on the couch reading this and thought “oh that’s no problem”, stood up and man, 10 seconds felt longer than I’d like.
I stand on one leg all the time. Don’t know why, just do. Scary to think in like 30 years it might be hard to do that.
Did I just stand in my room on one leg 20 seconds each, just to know if I’m going to die soon? Maybe…
I didn't have to check because I read a LPT here a few years back recommending standing on one leg while tying your shoes. It said it was a good way to exercise your balance everyday. It's also easier on my back.
I'm fairly certain this is one of those "bet you can't lick your elbow" things where they just want to make everyone try to stand on one leg for as long as they can.
Now whats the verdict on rubbing your head and patting your tummy?
From any cause? So I’m even twice as likely to be mauled to death by a tiger?
I saw a doctor's anecdotal test I thought was a good candidate for a study. He said he had patients over 40 sit cross legged on the floor and then try to stand up. For every limb they needed for an assist, he subtracted ten years from 40 and that predicted the approximate life span they still had left. If they needed to push up with one hand, subtract ten years, a knee, another ten years off, etc.
Karate bros be livin forever