Carle Illinois College of Medicine (CI MED) researchers are finding that the balance issues older adults often have are not entirely about muscle weakness. It has to do with changes and brain activity. From CI MED Teaching and Research Associate Professor Manuel Hernandez, co-author of a study examining how sensory and physical challenges cause balance problems in adults over 65:
We found that increased brain activity is needed by healthy older adults to perform balance-demanding tasks at a similar level as young adults. Increased cortical effort is needed by older adults to maintain balance when eyes are open and are standing still on a solid surface. This is consistent with prior research findings in older adults while standing still and the theory of neural compensation.
They also found that cortical brain activity decreased when they increased the difficulty of balance tasks. The hope is that this research will inform more targeted strategies for preventing falls.
You can read more about the study on the CI MED website.