Balance is essential to performance and to healthy ageing. Here are some facts that may surprise you

Your body’s ability to balance is among the most important – yet often overlooked – aspects of training. In groundbreaking research being led by exercise scientists at Manchester Metropolitan University (MMU), physiologists are beginning to understand how and why it is essential we maintain and improve our powers of equilibrium.

Here we uncover some of the surprising facts that underpin your ability to stay upright:

Your brain – not your muscles – controls balance

It’s widely assumed that poorer powers of balance as we age are down to the loss in muscle mass and strength that occurs with age. But the brain plays a more important role.

In our twenties and thirties, we each have about 70,000 specialised nerve cells – motor neurons – in the lower part of the spinal cord that connect with our leg muscles to control balance and movement.

By the age of 75, 40 per cent of these motor neurons have been lost, resulting in lower levels of co-ordination and balance in people with all levels of physical fitness.

“It’s as much a part of ageing as greying hair,” says Jamie McPhee, professor of musculoskeletal physiology at MMU. “And there’s no evidence at all that staying fit even as a top level masters athlete will prevent the decline.”

Hard training won’t prevent balance losses

In MMU research funded by the European Union and the UK Medical Research Council (MRC) and conducted with members of the British Masters Athletics Federation, McPhee and his team have identified a simple exercise as the most important in balance preservation.

They showed that young adults – even those who are not very athletic – can easily stand on one leg, eyes closed, for 30 seconds. By the time the average person is 70 years old they manage only four to five seconds doing the same test. In theory, the masters athletes who participated in the studies, some of whom were training for up to 14 hours a week, should have managed more than the general population of their peers, their superior muscle strength perhaps expected to provide a stronger base. But that was not the case.

Even with well-trained masters athletes, they found that those in their seventies could hold the position only for around seven seconds, which is not significantly better than average.

“It is appealing to think that regular exercise and training might prevent the death of motor neurons during ageing. Unfortunately, we found no evidence to support this idea,” McPhee says. “All older athletes (endurance and sprinters alike) showed signs of a similar degree of motor neuron loss.”

You should start balance training now

According to the MMU findings, the only way to hold on to balance and prevent falls is to practice balance-specific training.

Encouragingly, while the loss of motor neurons that control balance is irreversible, the master athletes studied by McPhee and his colleagues appeared better able to “rescue” muscles that had lost their nerve connection.

“This rescue is realised by the sprouting of nearby, healthy nerves, that can establish a new connection between the muscle and nerve,” McPhee says. “And athletes can also learn to better control the nerves that remain by practising new balance and co-ordination exercises.”

Starting balance training as early as possible – in your forties if not sooner – provides the best protection.

“We recommend you include it into your warm-up and cool-down programme,” McPhee says.

Try standing on one leg every day

Balance is needed in every aspect of sports performance, from spatial awareness (being aware of your body’s position in relation to what’s around you) to proprioception (the body’s sense of movement and position).

It aids jumping and prevents falls since our ability to stay upright is down to the brain knowing the precise position of the body, even when our eyes are closed.

“The brain knows what’s stable and what’s not,” McPhee says. “One of the simplest and most effective balance training exercises is to stand on one leg, eyes closed, every day. It sounds simple – until you try it.

“Once you can do the eyes closed single leg stand for several seconds, you need to challenge yourself more,” McPhee says.

“Try moving your centre of mass by swaying on one leg with eyes closed and then try tying your shoelaces on one leg.”

Balance affects long-term health

It is not just your times and distances that can suffer as balance diminishes. Your general health can take a downturn, too.

A study of people in their fifties by the UK’s Medical Research Council showed that those who could stand on one leg for 10 seconds with their eyes closed were the most likely to be fit and well over the next 13 years.

If they managed only two seconds, they were three times as likely to die before the age of 66.

Another study published in the American Heart Association’s journal Stroke by a team from the Centre for Genomic Medicine at Kyoto University School of Medicine in Japan asked 841 women and 546 men with an average age of 67 to stand on one leg for as long as they could.

They also had the health of their brain vessels evaluated using MRI scans.

The maximum time anyone managed the one-leg stand was 60 seconds, but those who wobbled before 20 seconds were found to have small blood vessel damage, which indicates “an increased risk for brain disease and cognitive decline,” the researchers said.

The triple European champion faces Marie-Josee Ta Lou when she makes her individual race season debut

After her 4x400m exploits at the Southern Athletics League last weekend, Dina Asher-Smith will make her individual race season debut by running the 200m at the Doha Diamond League on May 3.

Asher-Smith conquered the European stage last year, winning gold in the 100m, 200m and 4x100m relay at the European Championships in Berlin. Her times in the 100m and 200m – 10.85 and 21.89 – were both British records and world-leading marks, while the GB team’s time of 41.88 in the relay was also the fastest time in the world in 2018.

The 23-year-old started her summer by stepping up to form part of Blackheath & Bromley’s 4x400m team in Gillingham on Saturday, clocking 52.60 for the first leg.

Now her attention returns to the 200m and the opening meeting of the IAAF Diamond League series, taking place at the same venue that will host the IAAF World Championships later this year.

On May 3 she will line up alongside athletes including Ivory Coast’s double world silver medallist Marie-Josee Ta Lou, who also ran 10.85 for 100m in 2018, plus USA’s world 400m champion Phyllis Francis.

“Last year was an incredible year and I would like to build on this in 2019 and 2020,” said Asher-Smith.

“I am excited to start my season in Doha for the first time and test out the track at the Khalifa International Stadium ahead of the World Championships.

“The female sprints have so many extremely talented women at the moment and I expect Doha to be a great race.”

Also racing over 200m will be Turkey’s world and European champion Ramil Guliyev.

“I started my 2018 season in the Doha Diamond League last year and I look forward to returning to compete at the Khalifa International Stadium,” said Guliyev, who finished third last year in 20.11.

“Breaking the championship record and my lifetime best in Berlin was fantastic but I am sure I can go even faster. Of course my big aim is to defend my world title in Doha and I know I will probably have to break my lifetime best to do that.”

Guliyev will face four other sprinters who broke the 20-second barrier last year including world bronze medallist Jereem Richards from Trinidad & Tobago, Panama’s Alonso Edward, Ecuador’s Alex Quinonez and Canada’s Aaron Brown, plus Britain’s world fourth-placer Nethaneel Mitchell-Blake.

Jamaica’s Janieve Russell and Olympic champion Dalilah Muhammad from the United States will also renew their rivalry in the 400m hurdles in the Doha Diamond League.

They will be joined by Britain’s Meghan Beesley, USA’s Georganne Moline and Ukraine’s Hanna Ryzhykova.

JACKSONVILLE, Ill. – Toyota Racing Development driver Jesse Love will take the biggest step in his young career to-date on Friday night when he straps into a Keith Kunz/Curb-Agajanian Motorsports midget for the first time.

The 14-year-old native of Menlo Park, Calif., will jump behind the wheel for the flagship Toyota midget team during Barney’s Pub Midgets and More Night at the quarter-mile bullring, the opening race for the Jacksonville Summer Midget Series.

Track manager Ken Dobson devised the 10-race series – open to drivers with less than two national midget victories in either POWRi or USAC competition over the past year – as a way for some of the division’s rising stars to go toe-to-toe against the stout local competition the track has to offer.

Not only does Love fit the “rising star” moniker, he’s hoping that Friday night is just the beginning.

The Easter weekend program is Love’s first of roughly 25 races with KKM this season, a package put together as part of the Toyota Racing Development pipeline that the teenager hopes will allow him to travel the same path up the racing ladder as now-NASCAR stars Kyle Larson and Christopher Bell did.

That path has to start somewhere, however, and Love recognizes that Friday is his maiden voyage.

It’s a voyage he’s been eager to get started on ever since working with the team for a week during the Lucas Oil Chili Bowl Nationals in Tulsa, Okla., back in January.

“It has been a long wait,” Love told SPEED SPORT. “I’ve been ready for this for three months, and it’s been so hard to be patient knowing that this has been on the horizon for me. These last few days, I’ve basically been focused on how to get (to Jacksonville) as quick as I can and how to make the time pass as fast as possible. There really aren’t words to tell everyone how ready I am for this opportunity.

“I’m really looking forward to the whole first experience and I know it’s going to be a fun race,” Love continued. “I feel ready – mentally, physically and emotionally – and I know this team has what it takes to come out and be successful right out of the box. I’m so thankful to Toyota Racing for believing in me.”

For Love, who has spent time in pavement and dirt midgets, Legend cars, winged sprint cars and late models already this season, his preparation process has had no lack of seat time.

But for his debut in a Kunz car, the young gun has added to his off-track learning curve as much as possible, including plenty of film studies and time in the gym.

“I’ve been doing a lot of physical and mental training, as well as watching every video of midget action at Jacksonville on Loudpedal and YouTube that I can find,” Love noted. “I’ve seen as many laps of racing there over the last four or five years as I feel like I can, just trying to learn and figure out as much as possible before I actually get out on the track. The simulator has helped as well, for sure.

“It’s a lot of little pieces going together to make sure I’m as ready as I can possibly be.”

Love already has confidence coming into the event, thanks to its unique style of competition and the rough-and-tumble action he’s grown to love over his career.

“Jacksonville is definitely a track that I can already see myself loving, because it’s similar to some of the micro tracks in California that I’ve experienced in the past,” explained Love. “I believe we’ll be fast there and I could even see us being able to win there, as long as I can find the feel that I need to have for speed.

“It’s elbows up racing and keeping the car pinned where you need it to be; that’s short-track racing and the style of racing I grew up with,” he added. “I’m looking forward to the challenge.”

Making Friday night’s event even more special for Love will be his car number – No. 97k – for the event.

That number is the same one that Larson, Bell, Rico Abreu and Spencer Bayston all campaigned during their earliest days with Kunz’s operation.

All four drivers went on to win multiple races with KKM, while three of the four – Bell, Abreu and Bayston – earned USAC national midget championships as part of the organization.

Love is hoping to join that select fraternity and do the historic number proud in his debut start.

“When I found out that was going to be my number, I was ecstatic,” Love smiled. “I haven’t even seen the car yet; I know it’s going to have a JBL wrap on it, but my emotions won’t be complete until I get to lay eyes on it for the first time before Friday’s race.

“I have a really good feeling going in, and to be able to run the same number that those guys did … it’s a real honor and I’m probably going to be a little teary-eyed before we get down to business.”

A resurgent Mohamed Salah scored one and set up another to inspire a clinical Liverpool to a 4-1 win at Porto in their Champions League quarterfinal second leg on Wednesday that teed up a last-four clash with Barcelona.

The Reds, who eased through 6-1 on aggregate, held off Porto in the early stages before Salah and Sadio Mane combined for the Senegalese to put them ahead with their first shot on target following a VAR review.

Egypt striker Salah doubled the tally after the break and goals from Roberto Firmino and Virgil van Dijk wrapped it up late on.

Porto had briefly reduced the arrears through Eder Militao, but having lost the first leg 2-0 at Anfield, they never seemed in a position to overturn the deficit.

Barcelona advanced on Tuesday when they won 3-0 in their second-leg against Manchester United, completing a 4-0 aggregate victory.

Five-times European champions Liverpool, who had produced a scintillating display to beat Porto 5-0 in the last-16 at the Dragao stadium last season, had a totally different approach this time.

They soaked up the pressure as Porto made an adventurous start, with Jesus Corona curling a powerful shot just over the bar in the opening minute.

Juergen Klopp's side looked temporarily toothless, but they were just waiting for their moment -- which came in the 26th minute.

Mane latched onto a cross from Salah to beat Iker Casillas from close range but he was initially flagged offside, only for referee Danny Makkelie to check the VAR.

After a two-minute review, the goal was eventually given.

Facing the huge task of scoring four goals to qualify, Porto looked stunned, despite having attempted 15 shots before the interval.

Salah, who endured a goal drought in March, confirmed he was getting close to his best again when he coolly slotted the ball past Casillas after collecting a perfect diagonal through ball from Trent Alexander-Arnold in the 65th minute.

It was Salah's first Champions League goal since December, and his first away from Anfield in the competition in 12 months.

Militao soothed the home fans' suffering a little, beating Roberto Firmino in the air to head home in the 69th minute.

Brazilian Firmino, who had started on the bench as Klopp handed a rare start to Divock Origi, made it 3-1 with a downward header with 13 minutes left and Van Dijk headed home a fourth from a corner eight minutes later.

Tottenham Hotspur will face Ajax Amsterdam in the other semifinal tie.

After four goals were scored inside the first 11 minutes, Tottenham lost 4-3 to Manchester City but won on away goals in one of the most pulsating games of football in history to seal their first ever place in the Champions League semifinals.

Losing 1-0 on aggregate from the first leg, City took an early lead as Kevin De Bruyne's neat one-two with Sergio Aguero saw the Belgian fire out a pass to Sterling on the left hand side. The winger cut in past Kieran Trippier onto his right foot and curled an unstoppable shot past Hugo Lloris.

However, City weren't ahead for long as Son Heung-Min pounced three minutes later to equalise on the night and give Spurs a key away goal. Dele Alli, recovered from his recent injury, fed a throughball into the heart of City's defence and Aymeric Laporte failed to clear -- instead, knocking the ball to the onrushing Son who finished under goalkeeper Ederson's legs.

A resurgent Mohamed Salah scored one and set up another to inspire a clinical Liverpool to a 4-1 win at Porto in their Champions League quarterfinal second leg on Wednesday that teed up a last-four clash with Barcelona.

The Reds, who eased through 6-1 on aggregate, held off Porto in the early stages before Salah and Sadio Mane combined for the Senegalese to put them ahead with their first shot on target following a VAR review.

Egypt striker Salah doubled the tally after the break and goals from Roberto Firmino and Virgil van Dijk wrapped it up late on.

Porto had briefly reduced the arrears through Eder Militao, but having lost the first leg 2-0 at Anfield, they never seemed in a position to overturn the deficit.

Barcelona advanced on Tuesday when they won 3-0 in their second-leg against Manchester United, completing a 4-0 aggregate victory.

Five-times European champions Liverpool, who had produced a scintillating display to beat Porto 5-0 in the last-16 at the Dragao stadium last season, had a totally different approach this time.

They soaked up the pressure as Porto made an adventurous start, with Jesus Corona curling a powerful shot just over the bar in the opening minute.

Juergen Klopp's side looked temporarily toothless, but they were just waiting for their moment -- which came in the 26th minute.

Mane latched onto a cross from Salah to beat Iker Casillas from close range but he was initially flagged offside, only for referee Danny Makkelie to check the VAR.

After a two-minute review, the goal was eventually given.

Facing the huge task of scoring four goals to qualify, Porto looked stunned, despite having attempted 15 shots before the interval.

Salah, who endured a goal drought in March, confirmed he was getting close to his best again when he coolly slotted the ball past Casillas after collecting a perfect diagonal through ball from Trent Alexander-Arnold in the 65th minute.

It was Salah's first Champions League goal since December, and his first away from Anfield in the competition in 12 months.

Militao soothed the home fans' suffering a little, beating Roberto Firmino in the air to head home in the 69th minute.

Brazilian Firmino, who had started on the bench as Klopp handed a rare start to Divock Origi, made it 3-1 with a downward header with 13 minutes left and Van Dijk headed home a fourth from a corner eight minutes later.

Tottenham Hotspur will face Ajax Amsterdam in the other semifinal tie.

METAIRIE, La. -- The Pelicans' newly hired top basketball executive said coach Alvin Gentry will be retained and that he won't rule out the possibility of talking six-time All-Star Anthony Davis into rescinding his trade request and committing to New Orleans long-term.

"We have a very long and successful history together with Klutch Sports,'' Pelicans executive vice president of basketball operations David Griffin said Wednesday, referring to the agency, led by Rich Paul, that represents Davis. "Rich Paul and I have spoken about Anthony and I think we're both excited about what we can potentially build here.''

Griffin, 46, was Cleveland's general manager when LeBron James -- who also is represented by Paul -- was with the Cavaliers and led them to the franchise's only NBA title. Davis, who is under contract with the Pelicans for one more season, requested a trade in late January. In the aftermath, the Pelicans fired general manager Dell Demps, who has been effectively replaced by Griffin, albeit under a different title.

The Pelicans hired Griffin on Friday and formally introduced him on Wednesday.

Griffin said he has not yet met with Davis, but disputed the notion that Davis' situation in New Orleans became too toxic to salvage.

"Quite the opposite, actually,'' Griffin said. "Rich is genuinely excited about this situation. Rich represents the greatest player of his generation and he saw LeBron buy into what we were doing and our direction [in Cleveland] and the respect he had for what we did.''

Pelicans owner Gayle Benson said she liked Griffin's outlook on Davis.

"We certainly don't want somebody here whose heart isn't in it, but hopefully Anthony will have a change of heart and if he does, we'll welcome him back with open arms,'' Benson said. "We'd like for him to stay if everybody agrees to it.''

Even if Davis doesn't stay, it is arguably in the Pelicans' interest to attempt to keep him, if only to create more urgency on the part of prospective trade partners.

Meanwhile, Griffin also called the retention of Gentry a "no-brainer.'' The two worked together in Phoenix, when Gentry coached the Suns to the Western Conference finals. Griffin went so far as to call Gentry's presence as head coach "one of the big, big factors in this decision for me.''

"My leadership style is to build a family -- a family that loves each other enough to tell each other what they need to hear. Alvin and I can do that for each other,'' Griffin said. "Having a partner in this process gives us an enormous leg up.''

Griffin added that when he worked with Gentry in Phoenix, "Alvin was really honest about the fact that he's at his best when he's fearless Alvin -- when he's not looking over his shoulder, when he's not feeling like he has to do everything by himself. And I think we can put him a space to be the best of his angels.''

Benson noted that every candidate interviewed for the job eventually given to Griffin said they would be inclined to retain Gentry, whom she credited for doing an "incredible job under very challenging times'' this season.

"He just needs to get the right players together,'' Benson said later. "We've had some bad breaks.''

Griffin was among a half-dozen candidates who interviewed to become New Orleans top basketball operations executive in recent weeks, including interim general manager Danny Ferry.

Griffin said Benson convinced him of her commitment to winning by agreeing to what he described as "outrageous demands'' related to his desire to bolster staffing and resources in the front office.

NEW YORK -- Brooklyn Nets guard Caris LeVert took exception to Philadelphia 76ers stars Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons laughing when Embiid apologized for elbowing Jarrett Allen in Game 2 of their playoff series.

"We didn't really like that. We thought that was kind of disrespectful, especially after the elbow he threw," LeVert said after the Nets practiced on Wednesday. "It is what it is. There's no love lost. It's a playoff series. We expect that."

Embiid's elbow to Allen's face late in the first half of the Sixers' Game 2 win was ruled a flagrant foul.

Embiid apologized for the elbow during his postgame news conference and said it wasn't intentional. As Embiid relayed the apology, he and Simmons started laughing.

"I'm not usually humble, that's why he's laughing," Embiid said during the news conference. "But, yeah, I was just trying to be aggressive."

When asked on Wednesday if he believed Embiid's explanation about the laughter, Nets veteran Jared Dudley said, "I just buy him being a silly guy. He's a carefree guy. I don't think he was intentionally going to hit him, but any time you throw your 'bows like that, you put yourself out there."

Some Nets, including Allen, downplayed any ill feelings over Embiid and Simmons' laughing.

"Two young guys doing, saying whatever they said in the moment. It is what it is," Spencer Dinwiddie said. "It's not something that we can play into, right, because if we get into a physicality match, if [Allen] throws the same elbow and hits Joel, he's getting ejected. That's just kind of what it is. We can't play that game."

But Dudley, who will return for Game 3 after missing Game 2 with a calf injury, made it clear that it didn't sit well with him.

"I felt a certain type of way for it just because you're laughing and someone could have really gotten hurt," Dudley said. "Now, luckily, Jay did pop up. That's been Embiid's personality, but just because it's your personality doesn't mean it's right. So, for us, you can either get even however you want to do it, but the biggest thing for us to get even is winning Game 3."

After winning Game 1, the Nets allowed the third-seeded Sixers to reel off 51 points in the third quarter of Game 2; Philadelphia went on to win 145-123. Game 3 is Thursday night in Brooklyn, the franchise's first home playoff game in four years.

LeVert was asked Wednesday if the laughing provided any added motivation for the sixth-seeded Nets.

"I feel like it's the playoffs now. If you don't have that extra motivation going into it then you're a step behind," the guard said. "I don't think that's extra motivation. I think we already want to beat those guys bad enough as it is."

OAKLAND, Calif. -- Golden State Warriors center DeMarcus Cousins is "unlikely" to return during the postseason after tearing his left quadriceps during Monday's Game 2 loss to the LA Clippers.

"He will not need surgery," Warriors head coach Steve Kerr said after Wednesday's practice. "DeMarcus, most likely, will not be back during the playoffs. You're probably looking at a couple months' recovery, so it's unlikely. But Rick [Celebrini, Warriors director of sports medicine and performance] told me that there are occasions where that injury heals faster. So we're leaving the door open, obviously."

Cousins, who signed a one-year, $5.3 million deal with the Warriors last season, missed almost a year of action after suffering a left Achilles injury as a member of the New Orleans Pelicans. Now he faces several more months of rehab to come back from his latest setback.

"More than anything, I'm just crushed for DeMarcus," Kerr said. "He's been waiting his whole career for [the playoffs]; and then the second game, he goes down after putting all that work in to recover from the Achilles. And he's had a great season for us; he's really come along the last month or so. I just feel bad for him."

The Warriors appeared to be more upbeat Wednesday, two days after blowing a postseason record 31-point lead to the Clippers in Game 2. Both Kerr and his players are hopeful that Andrew Bogut and Kevon Looney will be able to pick up the slack in Cousins' absence.

"Losing DeMarcus obviously hurts," Warriors forward Draymond Green said. "But we've lost guys in recent years that's extremely important to what we do, and we're still able to come out with a championship because it's that 'next-guy-up mentality.' And the next guy's gotta be ready to come in and give the team what he can give 'em. I don't think anyone's gonna give us exactly what DeMarcus gives us; but in saying that, we still need guys to come in and play their role."

Bogut is even more empathetic towards Cousins' injury because he knows exactly what it's like to be knocked out of a playoff series. He was knocked out of the end of the 2016 NBA Finals because of a knee injury and understands the frustration that Cousins is dealing with. As bad as he feels for Cousins, he is confident he will be able to contribute even more if and when he's called upon moving forward.

"I knew I was coming in as an insurance policy to an extent," Bogut said. "A guy that could find in straight away that knows the system offensively and defensively. Knows the guys ... I definitely didn't anticipate starting in the playoffs. But unfortunately you get a freak injury to Demarcus and those are the circumstances we're in."

As the Warriors head to Los Angeles for Game 3 in a series tied 1-1, the Warriors are publicly leaving open the possibility that Cousins could return if the group continues playing into the Finals, but the reality is that group knows it must move forward without him.

"We're praying for DeMarcus," Green said. "For him to be in his first playoffs and then first quarter of his second game, go down with an injury like that, it sucks. We feel bad for him, and we're praying for him.

Secondly, we got some depth -- obviously Bogut -- signing Bogut now is even more important, Loon's been playing great, and [Jordan Bell] gotta make sure he stays ready as well as Jonas [Jerebko]. You never know which way it's gonna go."

Indians shortstop Francisco Lindor will appear in another minor league rehab game Thursday before rejoining Cleveland on Friday, at which point the team will reassess his ailing left ankle and determine whether he's ready to be activated off the injured list.

Lindor began his rehab assignment Tuesday at Triple-A Columbus. In two games, he's gone 2-for-8 with one home run.

The plan is for him to serve as Columbus' shortstop Thursday at Louisville and then rejoin the Indians on Friday, when he'll be reassessed by the team's medical staff.

The switch-hitting Lindor was making steady progress from a right calf injury when he rolled his ankle while caught in a rundown during a minor league scrimmage in Arizona.

Lindor batted .277 last season with 38 home runs, 92 RBIs and 25 steals.