I have countless patients come into the clinic and mention that they are much better at standing on one leg compared to the other. I’m not talking about unactive people here. I’m talking about active people who play tennis, golf, and soccer. People who regularly participate in yoga, pilates and strength training have also fallen short when it comes to balance. Unlike more inactive people, with these patients it is usually that one side is excellent and on the other side they are a wobbly mess. So what’s the deal and why does it matter?
Let’s start with why it matters. There is a lot of evidence that shows that having such a single side dominance, to the point of struggling to steadily stand on one leg, can put the body at an increased risk of injury. The difference in strength of each leg doesn’t seem to be the issue as much as the motor control differences. This means that one leg knows how to put together the correct pattern to get the job done, while the other leg is a little lost in how to do it. So imagine that the dominant leg is like a tennis pro and the other leg is like a newbie trying to learn the sport for the first time. Now they are set to play a doubles tennis match together. You can imagine that things aren’t going to turnout so well for either player!
So the question is, what can you do about it?
1. First, stop ignoring it. We are constantly telling kids to continue practicing and not let failure stop them from moving toward their goals. In fact mistakes are part of the process to reaching goals. However, somewhere in the world of adulthood we lose our nerve when it comes to tolerating looking or feeling bad at something. So the best place to start is practice standing on that goofy leg!
2. Second, change your strategy. Let’s say you aren’t ignoring it and have gone to yoga regularly for years and you try your hardest each time to stand on your left leg, but without fail you find yourself crashing into Tiffany, ruining her perfect tree pose.
If you’re struggling, and you fear your crashing tree pose is not winning you friends in yoga, try this!
Focus on the leg that you are about to stand on. Keep your weight even through your foot. Then as you lift the other leg, turn the seam or your pants toward your standing leg. This stabilizes the standing leg.
There are differing reasons for poor balance on one leg compared to another, so one size doesn’t fit all, but this is a fix that helps many of my patients.
Have fun practicing and failing, but never stop working when it comes to your physical health and performance!
Let me know what you think in the comments!
