Take the Dollar Bill Test: Better Balance for Better Bone Health

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Having good balance, especially as we age, is important to the health and vitality of our bones. Now, I am not a candidate for the senior citizens’ center just yet, but there are days when putting on my socks while standing may look rather comical to someone passing by. Is it just me, or is it sometimes a challenge to put on a pair of socks while standing? After all, that does require some level of balance, right? Without balance, we would topple over and fall to the ground. If our bones are not at their optimum level of health, that could spell fracture and serious injury.

I am sure many of us have had a similar experience: you are walking down some steps and momentarily misjudge the placement of one of them. Your brain quickly goes into overdrive to keep you from falling while you stagger forward, arms flapping about, trying to regain your balance. If you have strong and flexible muscles, paired with a quick reaction time, you can probably avoid the fall. For individuals who are active and fit, their sense of balance is better and they avoid fewer falls. This is especially vital to the quality of our bone health.

Three areas of fitness are important in this regard. For starters, you want to focus on your lower body strength. Try this simple test. If you are sitting in a sturdy chair, like one at your kitchen table, can you raise yourself to a standing position without the use of your hands? If you cannot pass this test, then your risk of falling is up to three times higher than normal. Even if you are frail, strength training is essential to maintaining lower body strength.

How are those ankles of yours, by the way? If they are weak and inflexible, you stand a greater chance of sustaining an injury from a fall. If it is difficult to bend your ankles, it is easier to lose your balance and even harder to catch it again. Not sure if your ankles can pass the test? Stand facing a counter, keeping your feet shoulder-width apart. Place your hands on the counter for balance. Have a friend at your feet with a ruler. Now stand on the balls of your feet. If you can raise your heels at least two inches off the floor, your ankles are quite flexible.

For another measure of ankle flexibility, stand with your back to the wall, with your feet approximately four inches away. Make sure your shoulders and hindquarters are touching the wall. Try to raise your toes and the balls of your feet from the floor, so you are standing on your heels. If you can raise the balls of your feet at least one and a half inches off the floor, you have some pretty strong and flexible ankles.

How is your reaction time? If you have quick reflexes, you can greatly prevent yourself from falling. When you do get off-balance, your body does not have a great deal of time in which to react. If you have access to a stop watch, you can easily check your reaction time. Start the watch and then stop it as close to five seconds as you can. Practice this a few times. You have a quick reaction time if you can repeatedly stop the clock between 4.9 and 5.1 seconds. It can be a challenge, but a fun test to take.

The next exercise requires the use of a one dollar bill. Stand facing a friend. Ask your friend to hold the dollar bill by one of its short edges. Then, place your fingers on either side of the middle of the bill, about an inch away from the bill. Ask your friend to begin counting to three, and then after she says “three,” have her say “drop” as she drops the dollar bill. If you have quick reaction prowess, you should be able to grab that dollar bill as it falls from your friend’s hand.

Feeling even more agile? Do this same test without having your friend count to three. Just have her drop it at random and see how quickly you can grab that dollar bill! (I wonder if my reaction time would be even greater if it were, say, a one hundred dollar bill?).

These are just fun little exercises designed to assess your balance and reaction time! Enjoy giving them a test run! In the interim, I am going to make another attempt to put on my socks without holding on to the edge of the bathroom counter! Maybe I will just wear sandals.

(Information for this article was obtained in the book, “Strong Women, Strong Bones,” by Miriam E. Nelson, Ph.D.)

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