Getting Strong Is A Balancing Act
Nik Wallenda is a seventh-generation member of the family ‘Flying Wallendas’. He recently tightrope walked an equivalent of six football fields across Niagara Falls as tens of thousands watched and the wind gusted up to 14 mph. The man has balance.
Wallenda said, “I’ve trained all my life not to be distracted by distractions.” Balance not only requires proprioception, which is an awareness of where your body is in space, but it also requires concentration. Coaches know and often point out that great athletes have balance.
Getting whiplash or a concussion whether it’s playing a sport or in an accident often disrupts balance long after the injury. Like any other muscles in the body the suboccipital muscles once injured atrophy. It is important that they return to full strength.
Proprioceptive input from these cervical muscles are important in headeye ‘co-ordination’, that is, simultaneous movements of the head and eyes. The suboccipitals have an extremely high muscle spindle content far greater than any other human muscles. The muscle spindles detect length changes within the muscle and lets your central nervous system know what’s going on.
Undue fatigue of the suboccipital muscles or atrophy of this group, no matter how hard you concentrate or try not to be distracted affects balance. Train this area by utilizing the Pendulum 4 or 5 Way Head and Neck Machine. Strengthen the muscles that directly interact with the head. Get Strong and….. improve balance.
