There is potential benefit to including the 10-s OLS as part of routine physical examination in middle-aged and older adults.” Dr Lowe added: “Upstream interventions are key. You’ve got to stay active: older women are far less active than older men, and general activity, just moving around and doing stuff, affects balance a lot.”

Life on One Leg, Tom Scott Sutherland, Christopher Johnson

Some adults with limb loss visit classrooms and libraries for story time to help children learn about living with a disability and what it is like to be an amputee. Books often get kids talking and asking questions. This is an opportunity to teach acceptance and to reinforce the old adage that “different is not bad; different is just different.” I Have a Doll Just Like You! is a children’s story about amputation and limb deficiency. It was written with the goal of teaching children that people come in all shapes, sizes, colors, and abilities. This book is a fictional, illustrated story for children about a little boy with a congenital amputation of his left arm. It also includes a glossary of amputee terminology, a letter to parents and teachers, and a series of discussion starters for families and classrooms. All of the proceeds from the sale of this book will be donated to send children with limb difference to amputee camp. The Journey of NEM

About the Book

Everyone is a hero in someone’s eyes! This is a book about a dad who is an amputee, and his son, Milo, who thinks his dad’s prosthetic leg is magic and that his dad is a Superhero. Join them at show-and-tell to learn more! This story is meant to shed a light on physical disabilities and educate children about prosthetics. My Little Leg Poor balance is linked to serious health issues and a greater risk of falls as we age, according to new research.

Life on One Leg by Sutherland, Tom Scott: Good+ Hardcover

What is balance? Perhaps surprisingly, those who deal with it have struggled to settle on a single definition. Technically, it’s the complex interaction of several different systems in your body – from muscles, nerves, eyesight and the inner ear to the sensory system that lets you recognise where your body is touching the ground, along with movement receptors within your joints that tell you where your body is in space. It’s not something we’re born with, but also it’s not something we learn in the same way as speech – not quite a sense or a skill, but an ability that we gain early and lose over time. The study summarised: “Within the limitations of uncontrolled variables such as recent history of falls and physical activity, the ability to successfully complete the 10-s OLS (one-legged stance) is independently associated with all-cause mortality and adds relevant prognostic information beyond age, sex and several other anthropometric and clinical variables. Clayton “Peg Leg” Bates was one of the legendary tap dancers of the 20th century. As a young boy, Clayton loved to dance, but when he lost his left leg in a factory accident at age 12, no one thought he would ever walk again, let alone dance. But Clayton’s musical spirit was still alive. Soon he was dancing again, first using crutches, then a peg leg. Within a short time, his peg leg matched the dancing ability of his other leg. Peg Leg Bates performed throughout the United States and Europe, winning the hearts of audiences with his unique style of dancing. He was an amazing showstopper and an inspiration to everyone he met. With determination and a love of life, he turned misfortune into triumph. His most lasting achievement might just be the extraordinary example he set for us all. Let’s Go Why is this balance test so important? It’s because it is so taxing. Your brain normally uses three different types of information to keep you upright: your eyes, your vestibular system (a sort of spirit level you have in your inner ear), and proprioceptors in your limbs that send signals to your brain, telling it what is going on. When you remove your eyesight, the brain has to work much harder to keep you steady.

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Spending 15 to 30 minutes a day sitting on the floor helps take your hip joints into ranges they don’t normally reach and loads your spine in advantageous ways. Both payoffs help undo some of the pain-inducing positions the body adopts when you sit in a chair for a freakish amount of time to work on a computer or binge-watch a box set. Research shows that women and men who sit for more than six hours a day are, respectively, 37% and 18% more likely to die early than people who sit for less than three hours a day. The message here is that it’s not enough to work out – even if you work out hard – if you’re going to park yourself in a chair the rest of the day. But change your mindset and you will change your body, too: standing burns twice as many calories as sitting, and will make you less prone to aches and pains. If you experience a sudden, noticeable change in your ability to balance, Lowe says, you should consult a professional – whether it’s caused by a relatively benign inner-ear problem or something more serious, it’s better to be informed. But a slow, barely noticeable decline will be the thing most people should worry about. Time and post-operative recuperation have afforded me two things – time and the ability to form a new skill set. I shall use the term skill set in its loosest terms, as I am sure there are no competitions I could enter or share with friends even on a Sunday afternoon. But nothing quite prepared me for life on one leg (and I am extraordinarily grateful that my one-legged life is short term – for lots of people this is a permanent adjustment to make, and I salute you) Here are 10 additional skills I have acquired as a one-legged lass! 1. Crutches become an extension of your arms