My eyes were the size of Grade "A" Large eggs as I looked out over the front wheel of my mountain bike and... it was no longer there! Too slow to react and get my front wheel over the ledge in front of me, too slow to go around it, too slow to find a soft place to land!

My tuck and roll wasn't perfect, but it was enough to save me from skinned palms or a broken collar bone. It did get me thinking about balance and how it's a lot like the ability to breathe - it doesn't seem very important until you lose it.

Balance is the ability to maintain our center of gravity (my gut) over our base of support (my mountain bike tires - both of them). Failure to maintain balance causes you to lose the "rubber side down" goal of most cyclists and usually results in antiseptic cream and bandages.

Understanding Balance
There are two types of balance: static and dynamic. Static balance refers to that of a stationary object, like standing still. Dynamic balance refers to the balance of a moving object, like leaning into a turn on your bicycle. This often differs from static balance, as evident when you lean into a turn and have to stop suddenly. We all know what happens when we fail to clip out of our pedals - antiseptic cream and bandages.

When we run (dynamic process), our center of gravity is placed in front of our bodies as we lean forward. We place our foot out (base of support) to keep us from falling on our faces, and repeat the process. Failure to get our foot out far or soon enough, like when it comes in contact with a tree root, again leads to antiseptic cream and bandages.

The three systems involved in balance are the visual, proprioceptive and vestibular systems. Our visual system constantly anchors us in space by comparing our head position to the solid structures in our surroundings. As we age, our visual system plays a more active roll in balance. Our proprioceptive system refers to small sensors present in our joints that constantly give and receive information to and from our brain. These sensors allow us to close our eyes and touch our noses. The proprioceptive system can be adversely affected by joint stiffness brought on by tight muscles (not enough stretching).

The last system is the vestibular system, which is made up of a system of canals in our inner ear that relay head position and motion sense to our brain. This system is adversely effected when we spin around in circles and get dizzy (thereby losing our balance). The vestibular system is considered the absolute reference system, resolving conflicts between the visual and proprioceptive systems. I should mention that none of this matters when you're hurtling over the handlebars!

These three systems work at three different levels of balance control. Steady state control helps us maintain safe standing and sitting postures. Anticipatory postural control helps determine foot placement while running based upon many factors including speed, cadence and visual cues in regards to the terrain. Finally, reactive postural control helps us recover from unexpected, unanticipated forces, like losing our footing.

Progressive loss of balance, like so many things, occurs with age. Reduced physical activity and loss of muscle strength also play large roles in this. You may have noticed that endurance athletes that specialize in road racing have slighter builds than their trail running counterparts. This is because trail running requires the use of more stabilizing muscles than running on flat, even terrain. This causes the legs to be a bit more bulky.

Balance Exercises
Try this: stand on one foot with your other knee raised to 90 degrees in front of you. Now hold for 30 seconds. If you are able to maintain your balance for the entire time, then close your eyes and try again. Switch legs and try again.

Balance retraining is easy to do and requires no equipment, it just takes practice. A good foundation for balance training is strength training. Strengthening your hip muscles creates a stable platform upon which to begin balance training.

Static balance training will help with balance recovery on stable surfaces. Use the test presented above until you can maintain your single leg stance, eyes closed, for a full minute.

Dynamic control is more involved, and can be more fun. First of all, if you road bike or spend all your time running on roads, get in the dirt! Trail running and mountain biking challenge your balance to a much greater degree, while giving you the same endorphin release you feel doing it on the roads. While on the trails, alternate focusing on objects that are near (5-10 feet away) to far (beyond 40 feet away). This will help stimulate your visual system.

Dynamic balance can also be practiced by tandem (heel-toe) walking, walking backwards and walking sideways. You can increase your challenge by increasing your speed. Another way to practice dynamic balance is to place a number of objects on the floor in a half circle from your left side to your right, about three feet out from your feet. Standing on your right foot, bend over and pick up the first object, lifting your left leg in the opposite direction as a counterbalance (see figures 1 & 2).

As stated earlier, balance is something we seldom think about until we lose it. Practicing balance will not only prevent injuries, it will make you a stronger athlete in the long run (sorry, I couldn't resist).

Dr. Ken Sheridan is a certified chiropractic sports physician who specializes in sports injuries at Active Care Chiropractic and Rehab in Golden. He can be reached at 303-279-0320.