St. Louis, MO    (314) 939-1377
HouseFit Physical Therapy & Fitness
  • Home
  • About
    • About Us
    • Our Team
    • Success Stories
    • In The Press
    • Contact Us
  • WHO WE HELP
    • Arthritis Pain
    • Balance Issues
    • Bone Health
    • Chronic Pain
    • Dizziness & Vertigo
    • Healthy Aging
    • Loss Of Independence
    • Neuropathy
    • Nutrition
    • Parkinson's Disease
  • Health Tips
  • Dr. Beth
    • Book Dr. Beth
    • Dr. Beth's Bookshelf
  • Careers
    • Physical Therapist
    • PRN Physical Therapist
  • Home
  • About
    • About Us
    • Our Team
    • Success Stories
    • In The Press
    • Contact Us
  • WHO WE HELP
    • Arthritis Pain
    • Balance Issues
    • Bone Health
    • Chronic Pain
    • Dizziness & Vertigo
    • Healthy Aging
    • Loss Of Independence
    • Neuropathy
    • Nutrition
    • Parkinson's Disease
  • Health Tips
  • Dr. Beth
    • Book Dr. Beth
    • Dr. Beth's Bookshelf
  • Careers
    • Physical Therapist
    • PRN Physical Therapist

Can You Stand On One Leg?

2/19/2019

 
Picture
By: Dr. Beth Templin

In last month's blog, we discussed the 5 components of fitness: Balance, Strength, Endurance, Posture and Flexibility. Now we're going to dive a little deeper into each of these areas to discuss the importance of maintaining each as you age. 
Balance, or rather the loss of one's balance, is a major concern for many older adults. We see people in our clinic every single day that come in with complaints of poor balance. One of the main tests we perform during our balance assessments is the One Leg Stand. I can tell you that over 90% of the time, people fail this test.
​

They are not often surprised by their results, but they always want to know why it's so important that they have the ability to stand on one leg. I'm often told things like "I never need to stand on one leg in real life". And I have to disagree with them.

There are so many things we do in our daily lives that require us to stand on one leg at a time. Take walking for instance. In order to take a step with your right leg, you have to put all of your weight on your left leg and stand on it all by itself. Then you switch legs and repeat. 

You also stand on one leg at a time to go up and down curbs and stairs, step over objects on the floor, step in and out of your tub and for many people also while putting on your pants, socks and shoes. 

As you can see, being able to stand on one leg is a very important skill to have as you age. Many older adults who think they have good balance cannot pass this simple test. You should be able to stand on one leg for 20+ seconds.

When you are not able to stand on one leg for more than 5 seconds, your risk for having a fall increases significantly. If you're not able to stand on one leg for more than 20 seconds, it tells us you have some significant weakness in your legs. 

If you're unable to stand on one leg for 20+ seconds, there's good news. With the right exercises you can get stronger and improve your balance. At HouseFit, we can show you how. We have several options to help you improve your balance including: the ActiveStep Balance Trainer, Physical Therapy and Group Exercise.
Picture
Stay up to date on information for healthy aging, special offers and events at HouseFit.​ Click on the button above and subscribe for our free monthly newsletter

Comments are closed.
    Picture

    AUTHOR

    Dr. Beth helps adults 55+ maximize their independence and fitness, so they can continue to enjoy a full and active life.

    Archives

    June 2025
    May 2025
    April 2025
    March 2025
    February 2025
    January 2025
    December 2024
    November 2024
    October 2024
    September 2024
    August 2024
    July 2024
    June 2024
    May 2024
    April 2024
    March 2024
    February 2024
    January 2024
    December 2023
    November 2023
    October 2023
    September 2023
    August 2023
    July 2023
    June 2023
    May 2023
    April 2023
    March 2023
    February 2023
    January 2023
    December 2022
    November 2022
    October 2022
    September 2022
    August 2022
    July 2022
    June 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018

    Categories

    All
    Active Step
    Activestep
    Age In Place
    Agility
    Aging
    Anti Aging
    Arthritis
    Balance
    Balance Issue
    Benefits
    Body Awareness
    Bone Health
    Bones
    Boxing
    Classes
    Core Workout
    Dizziness
    Dynamic Balance
    Endurance
    Exercise
    Falls
    Fear
    Fitness
    Fitness Routine
    Flexibility
    Flexibilty
    Flexible
    Floor Exercise
    Four Phase Of Fall
    Frailty
    Good Posture
    Group Classes
    Group Exercise
    Healthy Diet
    Healthy Living
    Healthy Meal
    Healthy Space
    Heart Health
    HIIT
    Immune System
    Independence
    Inflammation
    Injury Prevention
    Intensity
    Joints
    Managing Stress
    Memory
    Mental
    Mental Health
    Mobility
    Mobilty
    Movements
    Mucles
    Muscle Memory
    Muscles
    Neuro
    Neuropathy
    One Year Anniversary
    Online Classes
    Osteoarthritis
    Osteroporosis
    Pain
    Pain Management
    Parkinsons
    Physical Therapist
    Physical Therapy
    Plant Base Diet
    Plant Base Meal
    Plyometrics
    Posture
    Reactive Balance
    Reflexes
    Regenerative Therapy
    Resilience
    Saturated Fats
    Senior Fitness
    Seniors
    Sensory
    Shockwave Treatment
    Sore Muscles
    Specialist
    Stiff Joints
    Stiff Muscles
    Stiffness
    Stifness
    Strength
    Strength Training
    Stress At You Age
    Stretching
    Tingling
    Vestibular Rehab
    Walking
    Weakness

    RSS Feed

Picture

Address:
3809 Lemay Ferry Rd
​Saint Louis, MO 63125

​
​Phone Number
:
(314) 939-1377

Fax Number:
​(314) 449-9173

Email:
​[email protected]

​Office Hours:
Mon-Fri 8:30am to 5:00pm


Service Area: St. Louis County, St. Louis City, St. Charles County, and Jefferson County

Privacy Policy
No Surprise Act

MEDICAL DISCLAIMER:
All information on this website  is intended for instruction and informational purposes only. The authors are not responsible for any harm or injury that may result. Significant injury risk is possible if you do not follow due diligence and seek suitable professional advice about your injury. No guarantees of specific results are expressly made or implied on this website.
​Copyright 2025 - HouseFit- All Rights Reserved