Last week I told you how a stiff neck can hurt your vision. I also showed you a simple neck stretch that can literally improve your vision in two minutes. (If you missed it, click here.)
Today, I’m going to show you how a similar method can decrease your risk of falling or fracturing your hip.
But first, let me explain how this works.
Your neck contains sensory cells known as mechano-receptors. These mechano-receptors give you vital information about the position of your body in space. They also affect your ability to move your eyes.
In a study, researchers tested a group of people to see how well they moved their eyes. Then they had the people wear a neck brace for 5 days to restrict their neck movements.
The researchers tested their eyes again after removing the brace. They found that after only 5 days of wearing the brace, the people’s ability to move their eyes was significantly reduced.
The bottom line is that if you can’t move your neck, your eyes won’t move well. And if your eyes don’t move well, your vision and your spatial awareness suffer. And if your vision and spatial awareness suffer, you will be more prone to falls.
Our eyes are always moving, even when we fix our gaze on motionless objects.
So we need our eyes to move well so we can be alert and responsive. This becomes increasingly important as we get older. That’s because, as you probably know, the older we get, the more likely we are to suffer a fall.
One in four older Americans fall each year. And over 300,000 of them suffer a hip fracture. Within a year, one in five die from their injuries. And of those who survive, nearly half never fully recover and require long-term nursing care.
To make matters worse, studies show that if you have impaired vision, your risk of falling is more than doubled!
Fortunately, there is a way to reduce your chances of falling. Physiotherapists have come up with a simple 3-step method. Here it is:
Start by sitting or standing in a comfortable position. Then hold your hand straight in front of you at arm’s length and eye level. Point your thumb to the ceiling as if making the “thumbs up” sign.
1) Fix your gaze on your thumb. Keeping your arm level and straight, move it to the left (at about “11-o’clock), then to the center, then to the right (at about “1 o’clock”). As you do this. Follow the movement of your thumb with your eyes. But keep your head still. Keep repeating the motion for about 10 seconds.
2) Fix your gaze on your thumb as in step 1. This time move your head from side to side as if you were shaking your head to say “no.” While you do this, keep your gaze fixed on your thumb. Your head should move, and your eyes and arm should stay still. Do this for 10 seconds.
3) Fix your gaze on your thumb as in steps 1 and 2. In this final step, move your arm side to side as you did in step 1. Follow the movement of your thumb with your head and eyes together. Do this for 10 seconds.
Do each step several times throughout the day. If you like, you can even do them in the shower.
Once you get good at the method, you can increase your movement speed, and range of movement.
By the way, each step should be done smoothly and in a comfortable manner. And slowly at first.
Over time, this will give you better vision and balance.