While each of these books is different, a shared theme throughout is that people with limb loss are still just people and have a lot in common with others.

Dr Michael Mosley: Take the balance challenge to help you

The good news is that you don’t have to trudge to the doctor’s office to undergo the test. The one-leg balancing test, by a team of Japanese researchers, is believed to be an effective indicator of the probability of stroke in a person. Try standing on one leg for 20 seconds That’s My Hope is designed to foster understanding and communication among children and adults about disabilities, trauma, illness — and hope. Twelve children and 16 adults contributed artwork and shared real-life vignettes, including: the service and sacrifice of war, surviving Hurricane Katrina, juvenile diabetes, amputation, cancer, stroke, polio, homelessness, premature birth, and more. The real-life vignettes blend with the fictional story of a young girl and her father who suffers a traumatic injury and becomes an amputee. Father and daughter share a love of bike riding before his injury — and again afterwards when adaptive bike riding is introduced. That’s My Hope is suitable for children 6-to-12 years of age. Tibby Tried ItWhat 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.

on one leg for 10 seconds linked to improved health Balancing on one leg for 10 seconds linked to improved health

According to one study, hand and leg coordination is controlled by a complex neural network. The sensory circuits that control your vision, your sense of your body’s position in space, and the optimal functionality of the vestibular system determine your ability to balance yourself. So an inability to maintain balance could indicate damage in the neural circuitry and warrants medical attention. if you connect the dots, it seems likely that balance impairment is indicative of brain damage. These books can help a child with limb difference or limb loss have greater self-esteem as they can identify with characters that “look like me” or are “different like me.” Children can find encouragement to talk about their limb difference openly and answer questions from friends. Some books even help explain how to be fitted for a prosthesis. These books can also be useful for easing fears that children often have about upcoming medical procedures or recovery for themselves, their friends, or an adult in their life. Dolly’s life was perfect in every way. She was an “only dog,” beloved by her human companions. She got all the attention, all the treats, and all the love a dog could want. But all that changed one day when a tiny striped kitten came into her life — an injured kitty named Henry, who needed lots of tender loving care to recover from losing his leg. Dolly suddenly found herself with an uninvited houseguest — and a cat at that! Her life would never be the same. Dolly lost her special place as the only pet in the house, but she had much to gain. Hers is a story of mixed and confusing feelings. Together, Dolly and her human companions learned many valuable lessons in empathy, understanding, patience and compassion. What’s the Matter with Henry?: The True Tale of a Three-Legged Cat The one-leg balancing test administered as part of the Japanese study also suggests an association between advanced age and postural instability. Small vessel diseases tend to affect people aged 60 years and more, and in this light, this association seems valid.Another study suggests a strong association between lesions in a particular region of the brain resulting from strokes and gait dysfunction. During this study on chronic stroke patients, scientists discovered that subjects who exhibited asymmetrical gait were 60-80% more likely to have suffered some damage to the posterolateral putamen region of their brains than those who had no abnormalities in their postures. Upstream interventions are key,” agrees Lowe, who is a physiotherapist alongside her role as an associate professor researching strength and balance in midlife. “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. For some people, just try to build in an element of balance and muscle strengthening. Can you walk your dog off-road? Could you do yoga or gym work where you feel a little unsteady? Single-legged movements, such as walking lunges, are a great test of dynamic balance, but if you’re new to exercise, even bilateral movements like squats can provide a challenge.”