What's a simple 10 second test to predict your longevity?

In this podcast, Dr.  Rodney and Karen talk about amazing research about a simple 10 second one leg stance assessment. There are numerous studies that show that your ability to balance on one leg for a mere 10 seconds will predict your chances of surviving from all-cause mortality.

The amazing part of these studies shows that those that cannot perform this simple test are setting themselves up for disability and an early death.

Who is at risk?

Basically everyone who is living a regular busy lifestyle.

What does it look like?

Your foot's behind your knee consistently. You're barefooted on a flat surface and your eyes are open. spread your arms out and count the seconds you can hold that pose.

The British Journal of Sports Medicine, published this study in June, 2022 where they studied 1,702 individuals for seven years tracking their lifespan.

What are important principles to keep in mind?

1.  Balance is important.
2. Freedom from pain is caused by free nerve expression. 
3. Muscular strength is important so you need to eat enough protein and practice regular movement
4.  Your neurons need to be receiving the right information from your eyes and vestibular system.

How can I improve my one-legged balance?

1. Eat whole foods and plenty of protein.
2.  Move regularly and eliminate the results of a sedentary lifestyle.
3.  Avoid empty carbohydrates and sweets.
4.  Eat plenty of good fats.
5. Visit a chiropractor on a consistent basis.

How can I safely increase how long I sustain my one-legged stand?

1. Start small and build your confidence slowly and surely.
2.  Practice standing on one leg with a counter or back of a chair close by.
3.  Gradually increase the length of time on each leg.
4. Stand on one leg while brushing your teeth.
5. Use a red-light cold laser on your cerebellum. (For more information call us at 972-802-8812)

Follow us on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/stanceforhealth

Follow us on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/stancechiropractic

Our website is: https://www.stancechiropractic.com/podcast

Please rate us and write a review!

Transcript

[00:07] Announcer: Welcome to Stance for Health Podcast with Dr. Rodney and Karen Worth. Where becoming healthy is not complicated, control your health by focusing on six areas of life that we teach you so you finally have the energy you have to do what you want instead of being a victim of your age. I have over 20 years experience working as a chiropractor, and Karen is an author, speaker, and longevity coach. We've seen how a tiny change in your habits today can open up your life to a powerful future. Start today and take your stance for health.

[00:51] Dr. Rodney: Hi. Welcome to Stance for Health Podcast. I'm Dr. Rodney, along with the hope lady, Karen Sebastian Wirth. We're here talking today. One of our favorite topics, of course, is longevity. We're talking about the simplicity of what you can derive from a successful ten second, one legged stance. And there are several details about the way that stance is established. What it looks like. Your foot's behind your knee consistently. You're barefooted on a flat surface, and your eyes are open and your arms are spread out almost like you're like a game. And yet what we're looking at with something like that is a study that was actually done was actually a British Journal of Sports Medicine, June, 2022, actually, last year. Right. And were there anything that stood out to you as you looked at the subjects and the robustness of the study? Anything that stood out to you?

[01:59] Karen: What was the fact that it's a mere 10 seconds on either foot? And let's just tell you the results of this study, because they studied them for seven years and they found out that the ability to do that showed a reduction in all-cause mortality.

[02:19] Dr. Rodney: Now, when you think of all-cause mortality, think of the word all and think of the word mortality.

[02:28] Karen: Death.

[02:29] Dr. Rodney: Yes. Early death.

[02:31] Karen: Now, I would think we know that as people get older, they fall. A lot of people, like we just had that happen in our family. Your aunt Rita fell and broke her hip.

[02:43] Dr. Rodney: Yes. And what happens is each year, an estimated 684,000 individuals die from falls globally. Right. She didn't die, but she might have died for you right. Died from complications from her.

[03:05] Karen: But what really struck me about this study is that this is all causes, not just the falls, because balance is so important. Absolutely.

[03:16] Dr. Rodney: So the numbers don't actually add up. But I was looking at the major numbers on the causes, what they considered all-cause mortality on the list that top the list, 32% of them were cancer, 30% of them were cardiovascular causes, 9% were respiratory system diseases. And then, of course, this was a 2022 study, and they'd done it for seven years. So that included 2020 to 2021, 22 when COVID was still mentioned. In fact, it's still being mentioned, don't get me wrong, people are still dying from it. But that was 7%. I'm looking at that. And obviously there's going to be that's only just doing quick math here. That's only what that's like, not quite 75%. So there's other ways to die, obviously, but those were the major ones.

[04:12] Karen: Not interesting.

[04:13] Dr. Rodney: Yeah.

[04:14] Karen: Who knew?

[04:15] Dr. Rodney: One of the things I was looking at, too, before we sat down was a study that had been done, the predictability of falls and balance based on the strength of the big toe. Right. And so the reason why I mentioned that is because a lot of people will wonder, well, why does one leg stance for 10 seconds? Why does that predict how does that predict the viability of that person over the next seven years?

[04:54] Karen: So it's more than just balance.

[04:58] Dr. Rodney: Oh, yeah. So much more than that. Think of all the systems that are and that's one of the key features of the study is the strength of the big toe. What's involved in the strength of any joint, let alone the big toe? What do you think of when you think of joints?

[05:17] Karen: Well, for one thing, to not be in pain, because I know if I stub my toe, I walk weird for.

[05:28] Dr. Rodney: A little bit, doesn't everybody? Right.

[05:30] Karen: And that throws you off, you're hurting.

[05:34] Dr. Rodney: So what you're saying is you'd have a tough time if you stubbed your toe.

[05:39] Karen: Right.

[05:40] Dr. Rodney: You'd have a tough time standing on that foot.

[05:43] Karen: Exactly.

[05:44] Dr. Rodney: Right.

[05:44] Karen: So the fact of pain or no pain to me is huge when you.

[05:49] Dr. Rodney: Think of pain or no pain. What if it was let's put it another way what if it was sub threshold pain? In other words, what if it wasn't enough for you to feel it, but there was still bad information coming from that joint that your brain perceived as a threat.

[06:06] Karen: Right. You'd avoid that.

[06:08] Dr. Rodney: Yeah. And what would you do? You'd lean away from it. So now the picture starts to come together a little bit easier, doesn't it?

[06:18] Karen: It does.

[06:20] Dr. Rodney: Obviously, when you think of someone standing on one leg, you think of their bones.

[06:25] Karen: Right. The strength of their bones.

[06:27] Dr. Rodney: Strength of their bones, the joints. The information coming from those joints through.

[06:32] Karen: The nervous system, are they suffering from sarcopenia, which that's a real danger that oftentimes as people get older, they don't eat enough protein and they don't get enough movement, enough exercise, and their muscles become weak.

[06:50] Dr. Rodney: So that's where we get into all another subject. But it's very similar and it's related. We've talked about how sitting is the new smoking.

[07:02] Karen: Yes.

[07:03] Dr. Rodney: In other words, sarcopenia inactivity spawns all these weaknesses that makes it harder to stand on one leg. What other systems are we talking about? You said we mentioned the nervous system, and now, really what you've talked about.

[07:19] Karen: Is now we've musculo-skeletal.

[07:28] Dr. Rodney: We're interfacing with basically we're calling it a neuromusculoskeletal combination.

[07:33] Karen: Right, yeah. Well. And then part of what we do at Stance and I get to do as a neuro rehab. It's where your eyes let you know where you are in space, where your head is and has a huge part to do with a fancy long word, but that means where you know where you are in space called proprioception. You know what's so funny is my left foot hurts. Now.

[08:02] Dr. Rodney: Is that the one you thought you stubbed by accident?

[08:06] Karen: No, I'm barefooted and so I had my foot on the bar stool where we're sitting and I scraped the middle of it. Yeah, anyway, that's interesting because we're talking about that.

[08:22] Dr. Rodney: So the muscles then have to be strong enough to push the big toe down in order to grip the earth, to grip the surface that we're on. And if the nervous system that powers it doesn't have the drive to power it, let alone the muscle has have the ability to contract strong enough to apply enough pressure to create balance. Now we're talking about okay, well, what is the purpose of the body in the first place? To move around.

[08:53] Karen: Yeah.

[08:53] Dr. Rodney: And you think of someone who's living what's, the apex of life, right? Childhood, early adulthood, being able to go to the gym, being able to do what you want to do, gym or.

[09:06] Karen: No gym, just being able to live life.

[09:12] Dr. Rodney: What else stood out about the study to you?

[09:15] Karen: I think what stood out to me the most is that by age 50 there are a bunch of people that can't do it. And if you're in that no group, you're at great risk. I mean, we're talking 50, not 80.

[09:31] Dr. Rodney: What do you think? Let's just speculate here. What do you think people in that age group and people that were unable to do it at age 50, what do you think they all had in common? Fit or not fit?

[09:47] Karen: Not fit.

[09:48] Dr. Rodney: Not fit.

[09:49] Karen: Not fit.

[09:50] Dr. Rodney: How did they get that way?

[09:52] Karen: By living the way we live.

[09:54] Dr. Rodney: Sedentary lifestyle.

[09:56] Karen: So you get up, you grab pastries or some starches, something prepackaged and coffee, sit in your car for up to 2 hours, go to a desk or cubicle and sit. Go out and eat a lunch of fat, basically do it again, then work, need a couple more cups of coffee to make it through the afternoon, get in the car for another 2 hours, come home, eat again, sit in front of the TV, fall asleep, start over, rinse and repeat.

[10:34] Dr. Rodney: Wow. So that sounds like a recipe for what we commonly call in the profession and many people say in the neurology world is de-enervation wow. In other words, your body is unplugging itself from what it perceives is no longer needed. Right. And so the muscles, you don't use it, you lose it.

[11:00] Karen: What about the but I make up for it because on the weekend then I go out and try to run.

[11:06] Dr. Rodney: A five K. Are you training during the week?

[11:10] Karen: No, I don't have time. I'm too tired. In other words, we've got a society of extremes because we're too busy to do it consistently during the week, and then we try to make up for it on the weekend. And then there's injuries.

[11:29] Dr. Rodney: That term has been around for who knows how long now. The weekend warrior. Right. Isn't that what we all think about guilty? I've been there. It's this one legged study, and I don't know what really made them think about doing this.

[11:47] Karen: I think that from what I read, that they were looking for another measure. Like when you go to the doctor, what do you do? They usually take your blood pressure, but what are other measures that were easily done that could predict what needs to happen? It's interesting because you recently did this on a reel and got a lot of response, and then one of the responses was, oh, I'd forgotten to do this. My doctor told me to do that, but didn't tell him why. I said, well, your doctor must have had this research, too. And she said, I don't know, but I'm going to do it.

[12:28] Dr. Rodney: So that's good. A couple of standouts here. This study is based on the study of two, or at least two different studies. One of them had 1085 participants, ages 65 to 89. And the other one that you were talking about was a 2021 study of 5816 men and women over the age of 40.

[12:53] Karen: The one study I'm looking at was actually 1702 individuals. Okay, so you combine all there's three of them.

[13:04] Dr. Rodney: Wow. No adverse effects, or should I say events or accidents occurred with people that could do it for more than 10 seconds. It's almost like when you think about there's another study out there that's related to this. It's another metric. They did a study on, I should say they I don't know who actually did it. I think it was some it was like the British Journal of Sports Medicine again, and they were looking at firefighters and the ability to do 30 pushups oh, yeah. Decreased your risk of cardiovascular.

[13:43] Karen: Right.

[13:43] Dr. Rodney: I remember that by, like it was some huge number. It was like 75%. Now being able to do 40 and 50, obviously it gets higher and higher. This is saying the same thing, really, except instead of being on your hands and toes for a push up, you're just on your 1ft. We're really suggesting the same thing here. It's like, well, how good is your cardiovascular neuromuscular fitness and everything that supports that?

[14:14] Karen: I like it.

[14:15] Dr. Rodney: What else?

[14:16] Karen: Well, what's so interesting about the one? We're really then talking about three studies, because this one was conducted in 2022, and it was for seven years. And what was interesting is that they disqualified anybody that had had a recent fall or what we were first talking about. So everyone was that, but it was the fact of if they were in the no category, then it was like 85.6.

[15:02] Dr. Rodney: Okay. So it could be. What you're talking about is that the data showed that middle aged or older participants unable to complete the ten second one legged stand at a lower survival rate over seven years compared to those bottom line who were able to complete the test with an 84% higher risk of all-cause mortality.

[15:24] Karen: 84%.

[15:26] Dr. Rodney: 84%. So we mentioned my aunt, she was just out trying to cover some rhubarb, as she said, and she's in her 80s, she's in this, she's somewhere in this the highest category. That group of people could only do it. Only 10% of the people could do that, and they had a 90%. I'm sorry, only 10% of them could do it. So that 84%. All of a sudden, we're talking she basically fulfilled.

[16:02] Karen: Because you called it the one time before this happened and she was mowing her lawn. So we're talking about someone who's active, pretty active.

[16:10] Dr. Rodney: But it makes you wonder if it's almost like, well, how often do you have to mow the lawn, right? And I know she does other things. She probably still probably still cooks. She probably still bakes pies for various rhubarb pies. Gosh, what did I almost say? But anyway, that really hit home, didn't it?

[16:35] Karen: Yeah, it did, because I'm thinking that for all of us, as we start to age, there is the factor of balance. And chiropractic has a huge effect on balance, because when you are in alignment, those nerves are able to get the messages to all the right parts of the body.

[17:03] Dr. Rodney: To do that, let's give a live or an actual example of that in the wellness center. What actually happens when someone gets adjusted? Okay, what's one of the first things that we're checking when someone comes in and gets to the table? What are the three major areas that we're testing?

[17:24] Karen: Well, I know that you have them stand on two scales to see how.

[17:30] Dr. Rodney: Their weight is distributed, and that's actually checking the vestibular system, which fancy word that you used was proprioception, mechanical reception, joint reception. In other words, coming all the way up through all their joints, all the way up to where the lower extremity meets with the basically the axial and appendicular skeletons meet at the sacroiliac joint. So all that information is either skewed. Much of it is either skewed or less skewed following the adjustment. So we have someone that does that. We look at their posture powerhouse, and we also look at what has 85% of all of the neurons in the body. The total volume is called the cerebellum. It's executing flexion and extension. It's also planning it and it's coordinating it. So while you're standing on one leg, that is being utilized, too, isn't it?

[18:29] Karen: It is. And when you think about the ability to stand on one leg, what was so interesting about this particular one is we have the test of standing on both, and I do. My left is much stronger than my right. Probably because of scoliosis. That is correcting itself beautifully. And that'll be for another time that this particular assessment was just on whether they could do it on one leg.

[19:01] Dr. Rodney: Yeah, the weight difference is checking all those things at once. So if someone is, let's say just for a figure the 5% greater weight on one side of the body than the other, chances are they're not going to be able to stand. They're closer to not being able to stand for 10 seconds on one of.

[19:30] Karen: Those two legs because that imbalance throws everything off.

[19:35] Dr. Rodney: I've seen some anecdotal evidence to support what I mean by that is just by observation the testing, I've just kind of a straw poll of the people. Most of the time the weak side is the one that they're leaning to. It's not always the case.

[19:53] Karen: Right. One of the other things that we look at is that we are not using our eyes properly. And that's what I love about the neural rehab is because that message from your eyes and you mentioned the vestibular, that's the inner ear part and we have an exercise for that that we do in our neural rehab. The moving of your head instead of just doing what's called a sakad where you look out left or outright without moving your head is a huge part of this. How does that work?

[20:32] Dr. Rodney: Doc presume you're talking about the visual ocular reflex and the writing mechanism. All three cranial nerves are part of that and they're plugged in in part to the muscles of the neck that are at the base of the skull and they're sensing head movement. There's also some connection to the grid cells of the head like orientation as to where your head is in space and also the vestibular system that's receiving that input from mechanical receptors in your joints and the spindle cells as well. Okay, well where's my body right now? 24/7, where is it? So all that's being coordinated at once and let's just say your posture is head forward and your flexion dominant. Right. What's happening then? That's skewed information. That's a sense of threat too. Not just the misalignment on a segment by segment basis but the tie in is the ability to write your head based on what the correct information should.

[21:39] Karen: Be and that's that powerhouse, that posture powerhouse that's the involuntary posture system.

[21:47] Dr. Rodney: The brain stem.

[21:48] Karen: The brain stem which needs that input and also the sensory cortex which is how you know whether where your foot is so that you don't stub your toe.

[22:01] Dr. Rodney: Yeah, that's right. And if that information is skewed, you're talking about grid cells, head cells where's the head and space cells kind of that's a whole nother matter. We're working on posture but we're also working on receptivity of the body from its external environment to the internal environment and back out again. So all of a sudden one leg stance starts in predictability of longevity and all-cause mortality starts to like what's the original design of our bodies and the distance between where that 10 seconds or less is and where we want to be.

[22:43] Karen: Watch it. Someone who tries this and interestingly enough, this whole assessment that was done, it's kind of like they give the disclaimer no animals were injured and filming of this, they say basically no one was hurt while they were trying to do it. So that's what we want to make sure if you're doing your best to do a ten second, that you be somewhere where you can be close to a high back chair or a counter or something. My question is, with that said, what do I do if I go to stand on one leg and I can't make the 10 seconds? What are your recommendations?

[23:31] Dr. Rodney: That's a really good question. For one, we're not trying to diagnose anything.

[23:39] Karen: No podcast does not do that.

[23:42] Dr. Rodney: It's not the purpose of this. What we're discussing is things that we've seen with anecdotal evidence in the wellness facility we've seen. These are things that help. And I'm just thinking of one person in particular that she's been in a couple of car collisions, she's fallen over a couple of times and she's only in her seventy s. That fits right in and she started getting dizzy and she's going to a neurologist getting a CT scan. And I oftentimes wonder there has to be some level of hope here to empower this, to drive this. And I would say to that person that there is hope. There's definitely hope and there are ways to stimulate that to get better. And obviously chiropractic helps that because you want to restore normal physiology to the body. You want to do the things that healthy people do. And guess what? You're going to be healthy. You're going to be healthier, right? So I would say to that person, can you be with anything that you do either for free or invest in whether it's chiropractic or physical therapy or anything that helps your balance, including a Vibe plate or standing on one leg while you brush your teeth and challenging that, really? Isn't it a matter of just getting back into healthy things and realizing your body will respond?

[25:21] Karen: I would agree. And I think the other part to remember is that you can start small and work your way up. And in encouraging, as the hope lady, this particular individual, I just said grab the dining room chair and do 3 seconds and then work on four, and then work on five. And like anything else, don't try to do it overnight. Don't be discouraged and realize that you get to control your health. You get to control how much you move, what goes into your body, the rest that you're getting. Because it's interesting that all of these things did happen to her after a couple of nights of no sleep. And so all of these things that we talk about that you need for longevity. And the pillars of longevity are all important. You can't really say one is more than the other.

[26:28] Dr. Rodney: Absolutely everything that your body needs is basically the right nutrition in terms of, like, your brain. When you think about I told you there was 85% of the neurons of volume in your body is found in your cerebellum. That's that little miniature brain back there where you smack the back of your head. No, nearest your neck. That's where 85% of your neurons, the cells that instigate fire. When you think of a nerve, you think of the cell, the nerve cell. And you think of the extension, the axon and the dendrite, the sending information motor or efferent. And the message coming from the body afferent back toward the brain. Right. 85%. When you have to fuel that neuron correctly, you have to connect it properly. And that's everything we've been saying so far. You got to connect by stimulating it also. So connection, stimulation, and the right fuel for a neuron.

[27:34] Karen: Love it.

[27:35] Dr. Rodney: Yeah. But the cool thing about that is the very same things you're doing for your brain, you're actually doing for your neural musculoskeletal system as well. And the joints and the heart. Right. So they're all going to benefit from the fuel. You're trying to help your brain. You're going to inadvertently help your cardiovascular system as well as your joints, too.

[28:04] Karen: Love it.

[28:05] Dr. Rodney: Right? I just think there's times where I just go, let's not forget community, that's connection. But I'm just thinking about how God makes this all work, a long, healthy life, and it's meant to be simple. I think it's meant to be natural.

[28:22] Karen: I do, too.

[28:23] Dr. Rodney: I think it's meant to be. It's meant to be. That's the original design. I don't think we're meant to die sick.

[28:29] Karen: And the more you can do to live that healthy, hope filled life, the better it will all be.

[28:38] Dr. Rodney: Well, this has been one of the coolest that's a great way to end this. This has been such a great discussion. It almost has that same feel to it right now that we did when we did our podcast in Colorado. We want you to relax with this subject. And like Karen said, maybe you didn't hear it this way, but I want to encourage you not to get discouraged if you can't do the 10 seconds the first time. Guess what? First time you went to the dentist. You might be one of the people that had a cavity. That's okay, too. But you might also be one of those people that says, my gosh, I can close my eyes and stand on one leg. Good for you. That's awesome. What we want you to do is don't compare yourself to someone else. There's a starting point. And realize your body will respond. That's why we want to give you hope today and help you take your.

[29:36] Karen: Stance or health on one leg.

[29:40] Dr. Rodney: We'll talk to you next time.

[29:42] announcer: Thank you for joining us at Stance for Health Podcast, where getting healthy and staying that way are not as complicated.

[29:49] Dr. Rodney: As you might think.

[29:51] announcer: Subscribe now and discover steps and small changes that can increase your energy and open the door to vibrant health and longevity. This podcast has been helpful.

[30:03] Dr. Rodney: Please write a review.

[30:04] announcer: We'll see you next time.