⭑ Keep rolling your same ankle ✔ here's why and it is very logical All strength to Ukraine 🇺🇦🇺🇦🇺🇦🇺🇦🇺🇦🇺🇦🇺🇦🇺🇦 Hello, Drifting. It's not motorsport, but when you find yourself drifting a little while walking down the sidewalk. This is a consequence of aging, as are sprained ankles. Running on my local trail this week, I hit pain when I stepped on a small rock with my left foot. My ankle rolled, and I had to hop about 20 metres before I could bear the weight of my foot back on the ground. It's almost always my left ankle that succumbs. There's a reason for this; see item #1. If you notice yourself drifting a little as you walk down the sidewalk, there is nothing wrong with you, it is a byproduct of aging. But you can take positive action to reduce it — see item #2. // 01 Why Your Same Ankle Keeps Rolling and How To Stop It Your brain's ability to maintain balance is critically dependent on a set of sensors that relay the position of your head and feet so that your brain knows where to nudge them to keep you balanced. Our head typically weighs 8% of our body weight. For a person weighing 70kg (154 lbs), this means about 6kg (13 lbs). Now, imagine that your brain sent this 6 kg mass on your shoulders in a slightly wrong direction compared to the direction it nudged your feet in order to stay balanced. You drift. The key sensors are proprioceptors in our feet, ankles and neck. Proprioceptors are spatially sensitive nerves that respond to position and movement, and they proliferate in our ankle ligaments and the surrounding bones. Twisting or rolling your ankle causes permanent damage to these proprioceptors. This means that your brain now has to inject an element of guesswork in determining where your impaired foot is headed and where it is likely to land. ⇒ This means that sometimes the guess leads to impaired placement, resulting in another roll or sprain of the previously damaged ankle. And the damage accumulates. What this means for you: Aside from direct proprioceptor training, it is really beneficial to consistently exercise and strengthen your ankles and their complex web of tendons and muscles. This is the first line of defence in avoiding twisting an ankle and having it permanently vulnerable to repeated sprains: Do these three variations of calf raises daily. It will take just a couple of minutes, and you will be amazed at the difference after a few months. I do these before and after my runs, as well as on the days I don’t run.
Related: Avoid Ankle Injuries And Gain Balance Better With These Four Everyday Simple Exercises // 02 Drifting - A Byproduct of Aging Which You Can Combat The bigger picture of drifting is, unfortunately, a product of aging. Key factors are:
Poor peripheral circulation leads to nerve death, including the proprioceptor nerves, especially in the case of Diabetes. This means that the brain's "radar" in terms of our body's position and momentum is on the blink. Our feet and ankles are critical; however, the sensors in our neck are also absolutely crucial. For gymnasts, the positioning of their heads is critical for correct movement. As the proprioceptor nerves in our neck degrade, our movement becomes increasingly dependent on guesswork by our brain because it lacks accurate positioning information about our head. Because of their proximity to our heart and the massive aorta artery serving our brain, the nerves in our neck do not suffer much from poorer circulation. But they suffer from aging, i.e. poorer nerve conduction, reduced sensitivity, and a general decline in the brain's ability to rapidly process proprioceptive data. ⇒ These degradations add up to drift and imbalance, especially if we are distracted by something happening nearby or by noise or people talking to us while we walk. What does this mean for you? The good news is that you can recover some of the sensory loss and certainly delay more with specific proprioception exercises. See item #4 for the one I recommend for your neck. The reason proprioception exercise works is:
⇒ You can substantially improve your loss of positioning and balance by consistent targeted exercise. Related: Dizziness And Cataracts - Is There A Link? @Medium - Follow me on Medium ↗, covering ⭑food, ⭑brain, ⭑body, ⭑life // 03 Water Or Electrolyte Drinks, Which Is Better? Should we be drinking more electrolyte drinks, with heat waves in the Northern Hemisphere and a hot summer predicted for Down Under? The Washington Post reported on this with an extensive article. However, at the end of the day, my summation is this: if you are sweating excessively and especially through exertion, then perhaps an electrolyte drink will help your body recover the vital balance of electrolytes necessary to function. Think of it like this: Your body's cells rely on a specific balance of electrolytes to function correctly, kind of like how a car battery needs the right amount of electrolytes to hold a charge. When you sweat heavily, you drain those electrolytes, which hinders your body's performance. Electrolyte drinks work by providing these electrolytes in a form that can be easily absorbed by the body, thus restoring the balance lost through exertion and heat. ⇒ However you rarely need it medically as we rarely sweat profusely and without access to regular water to need special fluids. What this means for you: For everyday activities, even in hot weather, regular water consumption and a balanced diet should suffice to maintain your cellular electrolyte balance. They have a role for athletes, and when we are sick and have lost excessive fluid. You can also make your own, which is a minuscule cost and as effective as commercial products: Homemade Electrolyte Drink Ingredients:
Instructions:
Explanation:
The magnesium sulphate enhances muscle recovery after exercise. Caution: Be sure to proportion the baking soda to the quality you make and not add more than the proportion in this recipe, e.g., 1/4 teaspoon per litre. // 04 Activating Neck Proprioceptors And Neuromuscular Pathways Our exercise of the week is... one-leg horizontal swing arms. This exercise engages various muscle groups and stimulates proprioceptors in your neck, feet, and ankles. This stimulation helps the brain understand your body’s positioning in space. Regular practice enhances your brain’s signal-processing ability, improving balance and coordination. Along with improving balance, the exercise improves muscle strength and tendon stiffness around your ankles and feet, reducing the risk of injuries. ⇒ The main gain is in stimulating the neck proprioceptors and reinforcing the neuromuscular pathways required for balance. What this means for you: Improving your brain's awareness of the position of your head and feet mitigates the natural aging and degradation of this capability, thus lowering the risk of falls and ankle injuries.
Pro Tips:
Related: Keep Your Tendons Healthy And Your Balance Will Look After Itself Thanks for reading! P.S. If you are not yet subscribed to my free exercise app, try now ↓↓↓ Free forever. Opt-out any time. Opt-in by CLICKING HERE PLEASE SEND ME THE EXERCISES. NOTE: YOU ONLY NEED TO SUBSCRIBE ONE TIME. >> My Latest Blog Post: Energise Your Golden Years: Boosting Your Desire to Exercise with Gut-Healthy Foods About the newsletter: Do you think it can be improved? Have a story idea? Want to share about the time you met Chris Hemsworth, or your questions about how to live longer better? Send those thoughts and more to me at walter@bodyagebuster.com '4 Most Valuable' is a weekly newsletter from Walter Adamson. If you like it, please forward to a like-minded soul. Someone forward this to you? You can subscribe from this page. Each of these weekly emails has 4MV in the subject line to help you filter them and search for previous ones. |
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