Nov. 29, 2024— If you look at your reflection in the mirror to get a sense of how well you're aging, you may be searching in the wrong place. Turns out, a simple, at-home test may give you a more accurate answer.
A recent Mayo Clinic study published in the journal Plos One looked at several different ways to measure how strength and muscle mass change as people get older. The winner was a quick and easy balance test.
What the research discovered
Researchers found that the ability to stand balanced on one leg may be a more significant indicator of aging than strength or gait (walking pattern) changes. The research looked at 40 healthy people over the age of 50, divided equally into groups under 65 and over 65. Researchers tested their balance, grip strength, knee strength and gait.
The ability to stand balanced on one leg, particularly the nondominant leg, fell the most with age. Balance dropped 21% per decade on the nondominant leg and 17% on the dominant leg. This suggests that balance challenges increase with age and could indicate a higher fall risk—a major health concern for older adults.
Grip strength decreased by only 3.7% per decade, showing age-related decline but at a slower rate than balance. No significant changes in gait were found with aging.
How to check your balance at home
Take safety precautions before attempting to test your balance on your own. To prevent a fall, ask a family member or friend to spot you. If you know you're at risk of falling, ask a healthcare provider to assess your balance during an appointment. Don't try to test your balance at home.
To do an at-home balance test, start a stopwatch and raise one foot off the ground. Try to stand unassisted on one leg for 30 seconds. If you can't manage, it may be a sign you aren't aging as well as you want to.
What to do if your balance isn't great
If your balance isn't as steady as you'd like, you may be at increased risk for falls. But all is not lost. It's possible to maintain—and even improve—strength and balance as you age. Older adults who did a strength and balance training routine for one year had 74% fewer falls than those who didn't do the training, AARP reports.
As researcher Kenton Kaufman explained in a National Institutes of Health publication, when it comes to balance, "if you don't use it, you lose it."
Ready to start training yourself? Take a look at these 5 balance exercises and ask your doctor if they're right for you.
Sources
- AARP. "Surprising Things That Affect Your Balance." https://www.aarp.org/health/healthy-living/info-2021/improve-balance.html/.
- National Institutes of Health. "Assessing Ways to Gauge Aging Status." https://www.nih.gov/news-events/nih-research-matters/assessing-ways-gauge-aging-status.
- Plos One. "Age-related Changes In Gait, Balance, And Strength Parameters: A Cross-Sectional Study." https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0310764.