Friday, August 9, 2024

A collection of balance exercise videos

Improving balance requires doing exercises consistently.  But it doesn't require carving out a special time.  The idea is to find a few favorite exercises that you can remember easily.  Then do them as often as possible.  Spending 5-10 minutes every day doing a simple exercise like balancing on one leg is more effective in the long run then only doing balance exercises once a week.

When I was doing physical therapy to rehab a knee in 2012, I had homework to do between PT sessions.  Those exercises didn't take long, but it was important that I did them at least once a day.  Improving balance was a key goal.

7 Balance Exercises for Seniors-Fall Prevention by Physical Therapists
Jan 2017, 11 min
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BNC4bi3Ucac

Balance Exercises - 10 Minute Home Workout to Improve Balance
Sep 2016, 10 min 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PQLiXC31Nrk

25 Lower Body Balance Exercises
Nov 2016, 5 min
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EcK8btsPN9Q
1. Single Leg Balance (0:42) 2. Single Leg Balance With look Up(0:55) 3. Single Leg Balance With Hamstring Stretch (1:04) 4. Tree Pose(1:14) 5. Tree Pose With Arms(1:21) 6. Warrior III (1:31) 7. Airborne Lunge (1:38) 8. Skater Lunges (1:52) 9. Skater Hops With Reach (2:02) 10. Single Leg Deadlift and Reach (2:12) 11. 3 way Leg Swings (2:24) 12. Skater Lunge (2:46) 13. Lunge with Knee Drive (2:56) 14. Step Up With Balance (3:09) 15. Step Down (3:22) 16. Bosu Squat (3:34) 17. Bosu Lunge(3:46) 18. Bosu Side Lunge (3:57) 19. Boss Squat #2 (4:09) 20. Surfer Squat(4:24) 21. Blue Pad Balancing (4:33) 22. Blue Pad Deadlift (4:43) 23. Lunge To Balance (4:54) 24. Balance Taps (5:08) 25. Single Leg Squats (5:26)

Thursday, August 8, 2024

Ever heard of "foot intrinsics"? Important muscles to understand

Before I began researching plantar fasciitis (PF), I didn't know much about the muscles in feet.  As I learned more, it became obvious that even though one foot had developed PF, the other foot needed help too.

The woman in the first video is an orthopedic surgeon.  She explains the basics related to understanding and activating the muscles called "foot intrinsics" inside a foot.  After following those simple exercises, it's much more likely to figure out how to do the exercises in the second video.  The functional exploration in the second half are helpful for learning more about the interaction between the feet and the rest of the body.

How to Wake Up Your DEAD Feet (3 Exercises for Arch Strengthening)
Oct 2023, 6 min
https://youtu.be/hdMolpygXGg?si=SbjTi0X-2TVZ1fcd

6 Intrinsic Foot Muscle Strengthening Exercises (Fix Pain & Flat Feet)
March 2023, 21 min
https://youtu.be/xM4E3pc0lQg?si=CP4qdADaX2mp69of

00:00 - Intro
01:15 - Anatomy details
05:05 - ASMR: Plantar Fascia
06:38 - Foot Joint Mobilization
08:49 - Short & Skinny Foot
11:10 - Active Arch Exploration
12:38 - Fundamental Movement Patterns
17:41 - Active Arch X
19:05 - Next steps

Ideas when Plantar Fasciitis is a problem

Given that so many people end up with Plantar Fasciitis, it's no surprise that there are many people with suggestions on how to fix the problem.  The first video is by a man in the UK who specializes in working with people who are over 50 years old.  The second video is a good introduction to understanding what other parts of the body need attention in order to deal with pain in feet.  The third video is geared more towards people who are very active, in particular people who do advanced hiking.

How to FIX Plantar Fasciitis Permanently! (for 50+)
Nov 2023, 16 min
https://youtu.be/2k92DGPzVbU?si=vRGVQfq43Df_pqWo


How I Fixed my Plantar Fasciitis for GOOD
May 2022, 11 min
https://youtu.be/gkImPA_R7uI?si=B6uFhDBrSdyqK0wE



Saturday, August 3, 2024

Help from Bob & Brad for Plantar Fasciitis

Bob and Brad started talking about Plantar Fasciitis years ago.  Here are a few of their recent videos.




https://youtu.be/Y9J7OemNqsU?si=At21dKxc7ePNq34O