We’ve all heard the saying, “If you don’t use it, you lose it.” Balance is a classic example of how this adage is so true. As we age, we lose muscle mass and the neuromuscular communication so critical to “balance” is diminished. Adding to the challenge is the fact that we all have dysfunctional patterns of movement when we walk and perform other activities, many of which can increase our vulnerability to poor balance.
The good news is that training can reduce our losses and improve our overall ability to balance and function safely. The TIPS staff will teach you how to engage and train those crucial stabilizing muscles that add support to the body to avoid injury and improve balance. TIPS has also done extensive work in gait (walking) training so we can make simple changes to your movement patterns that will reduce stress on the joints and help the body to balance and move better as a unit. We also use training to improve the body’s communication system so that it is more aware of it’s position in space, has more information related to change of force, position and stretch, and is better able to control the function of the muscles to respond to the relevant information.
