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Balance and Canes and Walkers, Oh My!!!!
I feel unsure of my balance and need a walker or a cane for support right now. My friends tell me that I shuffle my feet. How can Original SANDDUNE™ help me?
Working out on Original SANDDUNE™ both strengthens and conditions the muscles and the joints of the lower body because it engages them more fully in the process of walking and movement. It connects the muscles of your abdominal core, hip chamber and psoas muscle which is weak in many people who have reduced or stopped their physical activity and lost the ability to lift their legs properly when walking, thus shuffling their feet.
Neuropathy, Toes and Original SANDDUNE™
Stretching and Walking on Original SANDDUNE™
If you are having this problem you may also have issues with your feet and experience neuropathy as a result. The unique surface and flexibility of the SANDDUNE™, allows you to exercise your toes, foot and ankle, individually and collectively. This means your foot is “relearning” how to work together as a unit. Your anchor system to the ground is stronger and has better circulation and range of movement. You “relearn” to look up and look “ahead” to what is coming instead of down in anticipation of falling.
The First Step of 1000 miles
The unique properties of Original SANDDUNE™ provide a cushioning, conforming platform ideal for use in the early segments of a rehabilitation plan. Its surface gently forces the foot’s muscles, tendons and ligaments to stretch as your weight shifts from one foot to the other. Simultaneously your whole body is adjusting to gain its Center of Gravity (COG).
“Toes Down” Stretch
“Toes Up” Stretch
Few balance devices allow the whole foot to sink down into their surface while offering the benefit of allowing your toes to stretch and work individually. Original SANDDUNE’s material and construction allow for these “Toe Cross Fit Workouts.”
Relearning to press each toe, individually, into the floor and then into the SANDDUNE™, is a job many pairs of feet have not done since they were running around barefoot as kids. Try it right now and see how challenging it is! Don’t look down at your feet while you try! Among the select few who use their whole foot besides kids and a select group of athletes are:
- Gymnasts
- Dancers
- Runners in ” nature’s socks” like Abebe Bikila or Zola Budd
- Yoga devotees to name a few (sans yoga socks!).
Peeling The Heel
“Peeling the Heel” is an exercise that promotes greater flexion in the ankle arch, and allows the Achilles to tendon to stretch and strengthen slowly. This means greater ankle strength, and can increase the leg stride. You are now “firing the glutes” and learning to walk from the hip. And getting gentle trigger point therapy for the foot at the same time.
Lao Tzu said, “The journey of a thousand miles begins with one step.“ Help your toes begin your journey today with Original SANDDUNE! Give them the “Boost of Balance” as your Holiday Season begins!
‘Prehabilitation’
Prehabilitation is becoming a more widely accepted process before hip and knee surgery. It is defined as exercise and strength training designed to strengthen the body before surgery so the body is better able to tolerate the stress of the procedure and its post operative effects.
The gentle, low impact/high resistance exercises that Original SANDDUNE offers with its capacity of developing the lower body’s “balance strength“, and core’s strength, lends itself to this type of therapy. We are Sharing a posting about the benefits of “Prehabilitation” before surgery.
‘Prehabilitation‘ prepares patients for hip and knee surgery
http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-10-prehabilitation-patients-hip-knee-surgery.html
Your Internal GPS
Experiencing weight bearing activity on a compliant surface such as the Original SANDDUNE™, engages use of proprioception otherwise known as your internal GPS. Exercise on this apparatus safely recruits muscle fiber without the traditional tearing that occurs on hard surfaces. This is why we suggest padding for at least 2 weeks to become acquainted with the Original SANDDUNE™’s unconventional surface.
This regimen is
a great alternative to letting the body rest after following the workout/fitness pattern of high intensity workout training without loosing the strength and stamina gained in the high intensity workouts.
Original SANDDUNE™ is also an alternative to beginning a regimen that can be part of addressing neuropathy, common in many with diabetes. It is easy on the feet facilitating and encouraging exercise.
Padding is simply walking but keeping your feet in continual contact with the surface. This is suggested for EVERYONE, including high functioning athletic types. Resist the temptation to jog. Why? Because you are retraining every muscle
and joint in your body including long and short muscles closest to the bone.
This is “mindful” centering with the somatasensory body (whole body meaning bottom of foot to brain) – a new way of educating and retraining the foundation of your physical body (neuro pathways) using Original SANDDUNE#™.
Simply holding on to a bar and learning to stand on one leg with your other foot raised slightly above the pad after you have centered yourself or just standing and learning to create small dime size circles clock-wise and counter-clockwise under your foot, noticing how the sensation moves up your legs into the trunk and into the hip sockets, will help you begin to retrain your foundation.
Learning the subtleties of how the body aligns and connects through the resistance option of both uphill and downhill positions teaches postural integrity. The uphill slope is higher and simulates walking uphill. The downhill slope is lower and simulates walking downhill.
Beginning these exercises slowly and building speed and momentum may not feel like much to start, but the results will definitely make themselves known or felt in a relatively short time as the muscle activation becomes stronger and the movement easier. Once you step off and resume walking on a normal surface, you will begin to notice subtle changes in your posture.
This is your new way of educating and retraining the foundation of your core balance, strength and coordination.
Get Low to Stay Low Workout
Demo and Brief Description of Low Assault Workout
As professionals whose livelihood weighs heavily on their ability to get into and out of buildings that are burning and collapsing, firefighters know that their job demands superior upper body strength and balance coupled with that same demand for their lower extremity strength and mobility. Their job requires them to work in a crouch position staying low to the ground so their profile is not in the midst of blinding, choking smoke. With job descriptions that include:
- Guiding and carrying people out of burning cars or collapsing buildings
- Tearing down walls to create escape routes
- Dragging 50 lb hoses
This equates to lower body strength being paramount. Fast reaction time, speed and strength are key. In the athletic world:
- defensive and offensive linemen in football
- sprinters coming out of the blocks
- jockeys
- ballet dancers
- martial artists
- skiers
- soccer players
are some examples of the athletes whose lower body strength, reaction time and speed are critical to their
performance. This same premise can be applied to military troops who must carry 75 lbs and upwards on their backs during training and on the battle field. The Low Assault – Get Low to Stay Low workout will help build sustained, explosive muscle strength and fluid lower body power.
The Brain’s job and Neuroplasticity
The brain’s job is to learn and when occupied in an inner awareness or mindful undertaking, like meditation, its capacities grow because you need to pay attention/focus for the brain to learn the activity.
- In yoga, for example, when you first begin, one must move slowly and mindfully to understand what is happening when learning a new motor skill.
- The focus on and practice of these new activities causes the brain to adapt, and to create new motor and sensory-motor maps for the task at hand.
- This is known as “neuroplasticity.”
Science has shown that this phenomenon of the brain called “neuroplasticity,” enables it to create its own re-organization and produce new neurons. Dr. Paul Bach-y-Rita, American neuroscientist and Moshe’ Feldenkrais, a Ukrainian born physicist/mechanical engineer, are responsible for coining the term and introducing this to the world of science.
The premise of the Original SANDDUNE™ addresses:
- neuromuscular disorders
- performance acceleration
- weight control
- balance issues
In the realm of sports, it has been used by dancers, professional, amateur, and “school based” teams, and medically by physical/occupational therapists for injury and post surgery rehabilitation.
Your Internal GPS
Experiencing weight bearing activity on a compliant surface such as the Original SANDDUNE, engages use of proprioception otherwise known as your internal GPS. Exercise on this apparatus safely recruits muscle fiber without the traditional tearing that occurs on hard surfaces. This is why we suggest padding for at least 2 weeks to become acquainted with the Original SANDDUNE™’s unconventional surface.
Padding is simply walking but keeping your feet in constant contact with the surface. This is suggested for EVERYONE, including high-functioning athletic types. Resist the temptation to jog. Why? Because you are retraining every muscle
and joint in your body including long and short muscles closest to the bone.
This is “mindful” centering of the somatosensory body (in this case determining the exact location of sensations on your body) – is a new way of educating and retraining the foundation of your physical body (neuropathways) using the SANDDUNE™.
Simply holding on to a bar and learning to stand on one leg with your other foot raised slightly above the pad after you have centered yourself or just standing and learning to create small dime size circles clock-wise and counter-clockwise under your foot, noticing how the sensation moves up your legs into the trunk and into the hip sockets, will help you begin to retrain your foundation.
Learning the subtleties of how the body aligns and connects through the resistance option of both uphill and downhill positions teaches postural integrity. The uphill slope is higher and simulates walking uphill. The downhill slope is lower and simulates walking downhill.
Beginning these exercises slowly and building speed and momentum may not feel like much to start, but the results will definitely make themselves known or felt in a relatively short time as the muscle activation becomes stronger and the movement easier.
Once you step off and resume walking on a normal surface, you will begin to notice subtle changes in your posture. This is your new way of educating and retraining the foundation of your core balance, strength, and coordination.
Peeling The Heel on the Original SANDDUNE™
“PEELING THE HEEL” ON THE ORIGINAL SANDDUNE™
As we age, our bodies change and we must learn ways to continue to function independently by learning how to work with change. This includes how to listen to the body, sense change and noting where you are in space. By preparing for change and understanding where the center of gravity is through balance and alignment training and by strengthening the body’s core, daily function becomes a much easier part of life. Being able to find and sense the feet/ankles without always looking down when they are in an unfamiliar surrounding will increase your ability to balance more readily.
Learning to ground is sensing the entire foot working on the floor and being able to sense the body’s center. We call this mindfulness on the SANDDUNE. Learning to “Peel the Heel” is the ability to incorporate the whole foot in exercise thus strengthening it. One is able to learn to lift the knee and foot, higher, together facilitating easy of walking without stumbling or shuffling.
Why do I keep falling?
As we become more aware of fall prevention across the country and around the globe, it has become apparent that once someone has fallen, more specifically in the 50+ age group, the fear of falling increases and walking properly becomes an issue.
Sometimes the resulting fear of taking another spill can create what I call the “ground watch” posture. We have all seen or know someone with the stooped or slouched upper body, the gaze fixed on the ground, and their arms barely swinging if they are not using a cane or walker. It makes it tough to walk when the knees hardly bend enough to lift feet clear of the ground or thinking that shuffling feet anchored to the ground will prevent a fall. In short this means their mechanism for reacting to shifts in walking surfaces is not used and is now severely diminished.
One may not realize that they are not lifting their feet off the ground when walking nor properly using their upper body when turning around to look behind themselves or to the side for fear they might trip. Poor reaction time makes them at risk for falling.
All of these newly developed “habits” make falling more probable which may be why so many seniors begin to fall more often. This gradually acquired way of walking becomes the “norm” instead of the natural activity of an “active,” upright upper body with swing arms that engage the hips as they work to lift the knees giving us our wonderful mechanics of walking or running. Get to a balance class and learn to use your body again!
Exercise in the pool is a great way to begin, too, since you are building your body by doing resistance training with water! How many people do not pass driving tests because they depend on the rear view mirror to tell them what is behind or beside them and will not turn and look when changing lanes?
Exercise on the Original SANDDUNE™ will help you restore diminished leg and core strength whether due to chronic illness like diabetic neuropathy, Parkinson’s or MS, stroke recovery, surgery (ie…hip or knee replacement) or a sedentary lifestyle. It provides a comforting and enjoyable way to get back on the fitness bandwagon!
HAPPY NEW YEAR!
AS THE NEW YEAR DAWNS
THE ORIGINAL SANDDUNE™ WISHES YOU A
BALANCED, HAPPY, HEALTHY & PROSPEROUS
NEW YEAR IN 2014!
Original SANDDUNE™ 