What Can I Do to Improve My Balance & Stability?

We're glad to hear that you're interested in improving your balance and stability, and we support your desire to make gains in both of these important areas—areas that are sometimes thought to be one and the same, though they are not. To clarify, then, balance entails maintaining your center of mass within the confines of your support base, whether stationary or in motion. Stability, on the other hand, concerns your capacity to control your body while in motion. In other words, balance is the ability to maintain a steady position, while stability is the ability to return to a steady position after being “perturbed.” Both are essential when it comes to achieving optimal musculoskeletal health and avoiding injuries, and both can be trained and improved to enhance the quality and efficiency of your movements (often using the same tools with slightly different approaches).

One of the best ways to improve both balance and stability is to incorporate balance beam work into your regular foot care routine. There are a number of consumer-oriented, home-based balance beams available in the marketplace today that range in both gauge and length, and there are many exercises you can perform on them (ranging from less difficult to very difficult) to help you build better balance and stability. Most of these beams sit quite close to the ground, so it's a relatively low-stakes way to work on the things you're interested in improving. Other helpful tools for training both balance and stability include the BlackBoard Basic (especially in combination with BlackBoard PerformanceBars) and the Naboso Kinesis Board (consider adding Advanced Wobble Wedges to increase the degree of difficulty). The BlackBoard Basic is a powerful tool for enhancing balance and activating and stabilizing key lower leg structures, while the Naboso Kinesis Board is particularly helpful in boosting single-leg stability.

Apart from the tools mentioned above, we have found that, when it comes to improving balance, the combination of Correct Toes, Naboso insoles, and men's or women's flat-soled, wide toe box footwear can be quite potent. There are, of course, a whole range of stability and balance drills you can perform at home or at the gym to enhance both of these crucial components of overall musculoskeletal well-being. You might consider hiring a personal trainer or working with a performance coach in your particular discipline (if you're a competitive athlete) to determine which specific exercises might benefit you most.