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Page 46 | Abby's Magazine - www.AbbysMag.com Your balance doesn't stay steady throughout your life. Just like your muscles and bones, your steadiness can deteriorate if it is not maintained. However, balance training isn't part of most workouts. As you get older, the senses involved with balance can start to dull -- vision and your ability to sense touch, temperature, pressure and proprioception (your sense of where your body is and how it moves.) However, your balance can be shored up, even in very old age. According to the Los Angeles Times: "A 2007 study ... looked at the effect of a yearlong balance training program on women with osteoporosis. By the end of the study, the women's functional and static balance improved, as did mobility. Falling frequency declined ... Balance training almost always involves targeting core muscles -- the ones surrounding the trunk and the back, such as the abdominals, obliques and latissimus dorsi." Balance Exercises are Incredibly Effective at Preventing Falls As you get older your muscle and bone mass decrease and the senses that guide your balance -- vision, touch, proprioception -- may all start to deteriorate, and this can make you unsteady on your feet. Fortunately, as with your mind and your muscles, losing your balance is not an inevitable part of aging; you can keep your sense of balance strong, and restore what's already been lost, simply by taking the time to do balance exercises on a regular basis. One recent study found that eight weeks of balance training reduced slips and improved the likelihood of recovery from slips among the elderly. Separate research, which noted that "altered balance is the greatest collaborator towards falls in the elderly," found balance training is effective in improving functional and static balance, mobility and falling frequency in elderly women with osteoporosis. What Types of Exercise Improve Balance? There are a plethora of balance-training exercises available You were probably not aware that falls are the leading cause of injury death among people aged 65 and older, as well as the most common cause of nonfatal injuries and hospital admissions for trauma, according to U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data. Even a fall from ground level, such as slipping off a curb, can lead to severe injury and death. Further, falls are incredibly common and related death rates have increased sharply in the last decade. The CDC notes that one out of three adults age 65 and over falls each year, and falls accounted for over 2 million nonfatal injuries among older adults in 2009 alone. Not only are falls responsible for most fractures and traumatic brain injuries among the elderly, but those who fall can also develop an intense fear of falling again, which leads them to limit their activities and in turn increases their risk of falling even more. So while it may seem like exercises to improve balance are optional as you get older, they should really be viewed as a necessity -- like eating and sleeping -- as they can quite literally save your life. Exercises to Improve Your Balance Crucial as You Age