Balance is the multifaceted collaboration of several different systems and receptors in your body helping you identify where your body is touching the ground and where it is in space. When the researchers returned 13 years later, they found that the tests had all, independently, predicted the chance that someone would die over that period, but the one-legged standing test was the best. Those individuals who lasted less than two seconds were three times more likely to have died than those who held it for 10 seconds or more. Burgess Bear has been an amputee since his younger years. But living with just one leg is easy for him — he’ll show how. He wears an artificial leg to help him stand, walk, and run normally as the others. With his wife Marie, he begins his day preparing a hearty breakfast of scrambled eggs, warm oatmeal, wheat toast with honey, and freshly squeezed orange juice — a meal shared with fun and love. This is the start of their adventures. The Cherry Blossom Kids and the Three-legged Dog An inability to stand on one leg for 10 seconds in middle to later life is linked to a near doubling in the risk of death from any cause within the next 10 years. The results were published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine. Forgotten the title or the author of a book? Our BookSleuth is specially designed for you. Visit BookSleuth

Life on One Leg, Tom Scott Sutherland, Christopher Johnson

If you have difficulty standing on one leg, it could be a sign of something more serious than overdoing it at the office summer drinks party. Middle-aged and elderly people who cannot balance on one leg for 10 seconds are almost twice as likely to die within 10 years than those who can, research suggests.I’ve been a naked intruder in someone’s house. And yet I am innocent as the day is long, faithful, honest and gentle. I can explain everything! Born in Ghana, West Africa, with one deformed leg, he was dismissed by most people — but not by his mother, who taught him to reach for his dreams. As a boy, Emmanuel hopped to school more than 2 miles each way, learned to play soccer, left home at age 13 to provide for his family, and, eventually, became a cyclist. He rode an astonishing 400 miles across Ghana in 2001, spreading his powerful message: Disability is not inability. Today, Emmanuel continues to work on behalf of people with disabilities. Harry and Willy and Carrothead According to the findings of the above study, those who could balance themselves for the shortest time also performed the poorest on mental cognition tests. A study performed in 2008 demonstrated that cerebral small vessel disease is associated with cognitive decline. A progression of the disease is associated with greater cognitive decline and the development of typical age-related conditions like dementia, Alzheimer’s disease, and Parkinson’s disease. This indicates that cognitive performance is also a critical indicator of the risk of stroke in people, especially those who struggle to balance themselves on one leg for a minimum of 20 seconds. Implications of the one-leg balancing test Some adults with limb loss visit classrooms and libraries for story time to help children learn about living with a disability and what it is like to be an amputee. Books often get kids talking and asking questions. This is an opportunity to teach acceptance and to reinforce the old adage that “different is not bad; different is just different.” Try step ups on to a step or box: put one foot on to a box and push through on that heel to step up so both feet end up together. To ensure you aren’t using your trailing leg to help, keep your toes off the ground on that foot. Progress by using a higher step or by taking your trailing leg up towards your chest. Try 10 with your right leg and then 10 with your left, and add hand weights to build strength.

Life Leg by Tom Scott Sutherland - AbeBooks

Adding weight to increase the force on your body is known as loading. That force elicits a positive adaptation response in your bones, muscles and other tissues, making them stronger and healthier. You don’t have to lift weights to load – you can do it while walking. Every child worries about being different. Follow one brave little boy as he embarks on a wild adventure and learns to understand, accept, and love the differences that make him unique. What About Me? I’m Here, Too!The one-leg balancing test administered as part of the Japanese study also suggests an association between advanced age and postural instability. Small vessel diseases tend to affect people aged 60 years and more, and in this light, this association seems valid. Sheriauna is a vibrant, smart, funny little girl with tons of personality! She has a unique story to share with the world and she loves to help others see differences as strengths. Learn about one little girl’s experience with being different and how we can all be kind to each other, while creating a more inclusive world for everybody. I Have a Doll Just Like You! What is balance? Perhaps surprisingly, those who deal with it have struggled to settle on a single definition. Technically, it’s the complex interaction of several different systems in your body – from muscles, nerves, eyesight and the inner ear to the sensory system that lets you recognise where your body is touching the ground, along with movement receptors within your joints that tell you where your body is in space. It’s not something we’re born with, but also it’s not something we learn in the same way as speech – not quite a sense or a skill, but an ability that we gain early and lose over time. The good news is you can improve your balance with activities such as yoga or tai chi. I practise balancing on one leg while brushing my teeth. You can find other suggestions from the NHS's balance exercises. It really is worth taking the time to work at it. The good news is that you don’t have to trudge to the doctor’s office to undergo the test. The one-leg balancing test, by a team of Japanese researchers, is believed to be an effective indicator of the probability of stroke in a person. Try standing on one leg for 20 seconds

One Leg: The Life and Letters of Henry Wiliiam Paget, F… One Leg: The Life and Letters of Henry Wiliiam Paget, F…

Now an international group of experts from the UK, US, Australia, Finland and Brazil have completed a first-of-its-kind, 12-year study examining the relationship between balance and mortality. Although the research was observational and cannot establish cause, its findings were striking. Tai chi, practised by an estimated 50 million people in China and more than three times that worldwide, is one option. As an aerobic workout, it’s not particularly taxing, but studies have shown that as little as eight weeks of practice can improve older adults’ scores on the Tinetti test – a commonly used measure of competence in basic tasks such as rising from a chair and walking – as well as reducing fear of falling. Longer periods of study show further benefits, with the Yang style proving slightly more effective than the faster-paced Sun style. Again, the former typically uses a lower, more bent-legged stance than the latter – suggesting that this style of balance is something to consider. The researchers said the study had limitations, including that the participants were all white Brazilians, which means the findings may not be more widely applicable to other ethnicities and nations.My method of going up/down have been based on how tired I am/ how many painkillers I was on and how safe I felt. Nothing will make you feel more vulnerable than standing at the top of the stairs on elbow crutches, on one leg. Hopping up or downstairs is hard work.. so often going up or down on my bum was definitely the method of choice! 4. Negotiated children’s toys/ dog toys/ dog saliva. A little boy brings his older brother, born with one hand, for show-and-tell. The students ask him all sorts of questions about how he does things with one hand and realize that he can do anything they can do — he just does it differently. Along the way, they notice that we’re all different in one way or another, leading to the realization that not only are differences a similarity we all share, but they are also what make us unique — and awesome! Emmanuel’s Dream: The True Story of Emmanuel Ofosu Yeboah It is not the intention of the Amputee Coalition to provide specific medical or legal advice but rather to provide consumers with information to better understand their health and healthcare issues. The Amputee Coalition does not endorse any specific treatment, technology, company, service or device. Consumers are urged to consult with their healthcare providers for specific medical advice or before making any purchasing decisions involving their care.

Resources to Help Children Understand Limb Loss and Limb Resources to Help Children Understand Limb Loss and Limb

On my first post-op day, I was moving from the kitchen to lounge – one of the dogs had just had a drink and left a trail of water splashes on our tiled floor… you guessed it, rubber ferrules aren’t the best with water – it slipped, I slipped. I didn’t fall but jarred myself badly with an increase in pain to significant levels. There’s a way to heighten your eyesight! 5. Doing ‘stuff’! Roughly one in five participants failed to pass the test, a percentage that rose in tandem with age – more than one in three (37%) failed between ages 66 and 70. Other studies have made similar connections, with the ability to rise from the floor to a standing position, balance with one eye closed or simply walk at a brisk pace all tied to longevity. Poor balance is linked to serious health issues and a greater risk of falls as we age, according to new research.Every child worries about being different. Follow one brave little boy as he embarks on a wild adventure and learns to understand, accept, and love the differences that make him unique. Uniquely Me