Balance Training

It should be obvious that normal walking requires not only muscle strength but also the ability to balance. Severe deterioration of one’s ability to balance can make walking impossible or cause falls to occur more frequently. Even if there is a slight decrease in balance ability, walking and social participation can be severely reduced, especially as it compounds with the anxiety induced by this impairment. The difficulty of the task can be increased by reducing the base of support and sensory input, by increasing the magnitude of movement, by increasing the requirement for precise control of movement, and by introducing dual tasks. To make balance training effective, it is essential that the area of the base of support be minimized and that hand usage be reduced in order to improve balance. To improve proactive balance, it is necessary to move the center of mass not only horizontally but also vertically.