Still can’t nail tree pose let alone shimmy into your jeans one leg at a time without tipping over? Your balance may be to blame. Being able to stand on one leg is a good indicator of your lower-body and core strength. And being able to do this fitness feat gets harder with age (what doesn’t?).Â
Here, we spoke to a physical therapist and certified Qigong instructor about five possible reasons why you can’t balance on one leg. Plus, our experts offer straightforward solutions to help you conquer your balance goals.Â
1. You have weak ankles and calves
The muscles in your ankles and calves play an essential role in supporting your entire body. “When these muscles are weak, they can’t respond quickly enough to keep you stable, making it challenging to stay upright on one leg,” says physical therapist Raymond Agostino, PT, DPT, owner of Agostino Athletics.Â
Having weak ankle and calf muscles can stem from a lack of targeted exercise, past injuries, or simply inactivity. But unsupportive footwear can also cause ankle weakness over time, says certified Qigong instructor Amy Parker, owner of Qigong with Amy.
When it comes to your ankles, specifically, repeated ankle sprains can weaken your ligaments and muscles, messing with your stability—making it harder to balance on one leg as a result. If you’re prone to ankle sprains, that chronic instability can also impair your proprioception, or the ability to sense where your body parts are at all times. “This instability can cause your ankle to feel like it wants to give out, making it difficult to maintain balance,” Agostino says.
How to fix it
Your goal should be strengthening and increasing the flexibility in your ankles and calves. For your calves, Agostino recommends starting with bodyweight calf raises and gradually adding resistance with weights or resistance bands. For your ankles, try ankle inversion and eversion exercises using resistance bands.
Calf rase
- Start standing with your feet together. Grab hold of a sturdy object, like the back of a chair, to help with balance.
- Press through the balls of your feet to raise your heels off the ground as high as possible.
- Pause here for a moment then slowly lower your heels back to the floor.
- Repeat.
Ankle inversion
- Begin seated in a chair with a flat back and your feet flat on the ground.
- Loop a resistance band around the middle of your right foot and hold onto the extra length of the resistance band with your right hand.
- Move your right foot in toward your body as far as you can without moving the rest of your leg.
- Return your right foot to starting position.
- Repeat this motion with your right foot for a desired number of reps before switching to your left foot.
Ankle eversion
- Begin seated in a chair with a flat back and your feet flat on the ground.
- Loop a resistance band around the middle of your right foot and hold onto the extra length of the resistance band with your right hand.
- Move your right foot in away from your body as far as you can without moving the rest of your leg.
- Return your right foot to starting position.
- Repeat this motion with your right foot for a desired number of reps before switching to your left foot.
Parker suggests doing ankle rotations and rocking exercises for 8 to 15 reps every day. From a seated position, lift your foot slightly off the ground and rotate your ankle clockwise and then counterclockwise. Progress to exercising both ankles simultaneously by rocking them back and forth. In a standing position, raise all 10 toes, then lower them, and rock onto the balls of your feet, lifting your heels; and use a chair or counter for balance and support if you need.
Another way to strengthen the muscles in your ankles and calves is by practicing standing on one leg. If you’re reading this article, chances are you probably can’t balance on one leg just yet, so make sure to hold onto a sturdy surface for support until you’re able to do so free-standing.Â
2. You have a proprioceptive deficit
Proprioception is your body’s ability to sense its position and movement in space. “It’s like having an internal GPS for your body parts,” Agostino says.Â
When your proprioception is impaired, your brain has a harder time understanding where your limbs are in space, making it a challenge to balance on one leg. This can happen due to injuries, such as ankle sprains, which disrupt the nerve signals, or simply a lack of practice in activities that challenge your balance, Agostino says.Â
How to fix it
You’ll want to try new exercises that test your balance. Agostino suggests marching or doing leg swings while standing on a less stable surface, like a balance pad. “This helps retrain your brain to better sense and react to your body’s position,” he says.Â
Another way to help improve proprioception is to spend some time training barefoot—this can improve your body’s natural ability to sense and correct imbalances.
Marching exercise
