Dr Michelle Dickinson: nanotechnologist reveals what standing on one leg can say about your health

If you're over 50 and can stand on one leg for at least 30 seconds, you may be aging well, according to recent research published in the journal PLOS ONE.

Unipedal balance testing (standing on one leg) is a known measure of neuromuscular aging.  

The study found that as we age, our balance tends to decline more quickly than our walking speed or muscle strength making it a very sensitive predictor of physical ageing. 

In the study, 40 healthy individuals aged over 50 (20 aged under 65, 20 aged 65 and older) underwent tests for walking gait, balance, grip strength, and knee strength.  

During the balance tests, participants stood on force plates for 30 seconds in different positions: 

1. On both feet with eyes open
2. On both feet with eyes closed
3. On their non-dominant leg with eyes open
4. On their dominant leg with eyes open 

Standing on one leg, particularly the non-dominant leg, showed the highest rate of decline with age. 

Balance is a complex skill that involves muscle strength, visual input, the vestibular system (located in the inner ear), and the somatosensory system, which helps detect and perceive sensations like pain, temperature, and body position. 

The researchers also found that grip strength decreased more rapidly with age than knee strength, making it a better predictor of aging while walking gait which was measured by having participants walk back and forth at their own pace along an 8-meter flat walkway did not change significantly with age. 

Knowing your grip strength and balance time on each leg can be helpful, as you can improve these areas through targeted exercises, reducing your risk of serious injuries as you age as unintentional falls are the leading cause of injury among adults 65 and older, with most falls resulting from a loss of balance. 

So if you want to age gracefully, test your balancing skills and maybe add some strength training to anti-wrinkle cream.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:06):
You're listening to the Sunday Session podcast with Francesca Rudgin
from News Talks EDB.

Speaker 2 (00:12):
So you might be really good at standing on one
foot balancing on one leg, but what about if you
close your eyes, or what about if you sort of
add something to the mix, like try and pass a
tennis ball around you back and things like that. These
are the things that I've been doing. And I'm really
interested because doctor Micheld Dickinson joins US now and for
our Science study of the Week, she is going to
talk about what standing on one leg can reveal about

(00:34):
your health.

Speaker 3 (00:35):
Thanks so interesting, and I think you're one of the
few people who are actually just standing on leg on
a regular basis.

Speaker 2 (00:41):
Well, no, I'm having to do it, like I've had
this issue, right, so I've had to do it. It's
amazing when you start, but it's also really interesting how
quickly you can build up that stability.

Speaker 3 (00:50):
So that's the great thing about the study. So it's
in the journal p Los one. It was out this
week and it basically says, if you measure how long
you can stand on one leg and ideally you're non
dominant the leg that you don't prefer to stand on
you can tell a lot about how you are aging
and if you are aging well. So often we think

(01:10):
about aging, we look in the mirror, we count another
wrinkle on your face, and we go, oh, I'm not
changing well, or oh maybe I'm doing okay. This has
got nothing to do with superficial skin aging. This is
all about aging that actually can predict whether or not
you're likely to have a poorer outcome, such as a
fall in the long term as you age, which we
know has once you have a fall, and you often

(01:30):
can't come back from that in older age. So if
you're over sixty five and intentional falls are the leading
cause of injury, so how do you prevent those? You're
able to balance well? How do you know if you
can balance well? Do a test? Literally, get a timer
right not none, right now, when I'm done, when the
AD breaks on, but I get a timer and then
stand on your non dominant leg and see how long

(01:51):
you can do it for. If you are aged over
fifty and you can stand on your non dominant leg
for more than thirty seconds, you are aging well. Really
simple tests, and I don't think people stand on one
leg for thirty seconds very often intentionally so it's a
good just check to say where you are. So how
does this work? This study was all about trying to
find something that predicts whether or not you're aging. Well,

(02:13):
that's easy to do at home. And so they did
a whole bunch of things that we know are to
let you sort of lose as you age. So they
tested balance, which is a standing on one leg, and
they did it in lots of ways. You could stand
on both feet with your eyes open, you could stand
on both itet with your eyes closed, and then they
did dominant leg, non dominant leg, eyes open, eyes, clothes
and basically, as soon as you shut your eyes, everything's

(02:34):
over with me, like I you know, And why is that? Well,
balance is really complex. It's based on number one muscle strength,
so you can build that up. It's based on visual inputs,
so if you shut your eyes, you lose a part
of your balance, which is why things start to get
really moblat. I do this a lot with kids. Actually,
I make them shut their eyes and stand on one leg.

Speaker 2 (02:53):
And I was going to ask you why that is,
because it is amazing the difference it makes.

Speaker 3 (02:57):
Oh yeah, you're fall right, Oh yeah, totally. It's also
to do with your vestibular system, which is that little
system inside your inner ear, which is to do with balance.
And it's also your somato sensory system, which is your
system that helps you detect pain, temperature, and body position.
All of those four systems together are what you need
for balance. So if you're not balancing well, you can
try and improve it with muscle strength. But if it's

(03:18):
still not working, then you know you might also have
an issue. And it's a really good indicator of any
newer degenitive diseases too. If your brain's not quite aging well,
sometimes this balance test can help predict that. So what
they found on balance test, grip tests, niche strength test,
and walking gait basically how you walk and whether or
not that changes if you walk at different ages and

(03:40):
you walk at different speeds. That this balance test is
a really good predictor, and so do it. Sit at home,
stand up thirty seconds, stand on your non dominant leg.
If you can stand there for thirty seconds without falling
over in your age of for fifty, you're doing well.
And even if you're doing well, the suggestion is if
you can help improve that, increase that, So do a
bit of muscle training. Do a bit of strength training.

(04:01):
What are you doing? You're standing on a ball.

Speaker 2 (04:03):
I'm on a wobble board. That just stay this was Yeah,
I'm not very good at it. I need to say well,
I've had a text here from muzz who said that
I need to do what Mike Hosking does and start
standing on one foot while you brush your teeth. It's
a good it's a good time to do it. But
I'm doing something else while I brush my teeth. We're
an odd lot here in these talks. I brush my

(04:24):
teeth with my non dominant hand. So this is all
about trying to do things differently to keep my brain
functioning and going well. So you know, one day leg
one day on a leg one day, or I could
do my non dominant leg and my non dominant hand
and they'll just be toothpaste.

Speaker 3 (04:41):
Everywhere, and maybe time your dantist be like, what's changed
so awful?

Speaker 2 (04:48):
Oh the things we do? Michelle love you to catch
up with you will catch up next

Speaker 1 (04:51):
Week For more from the Sunday session with Francesca Rudgin,
listen live to News Talks it'd be from nine am Sunday,
or follow the podcast on iHeartRadio,