Can’t Balance on One Leg? Here Are 5 Reasons Why

Still can’t nail tree pose let alone shimmy into your jeans one leg at a time without tipping over? Your balance may be to blame. Being able to stand on one leg is a good indicator of your lower-body and core strength. And being able to do this fitness feat gets harder with age (what doesn’t?). 

Here, we spoke to a physical therapist and certified Qigong instructor about five possible reasons why you can’t balance on one leg. Plus, our experts offer straightforward solutions to help you conquer your balance goals. 

1. You have weak ankles and calves

The muscles in your ankles and calves play an essential role in supporting your entire body. “When these muscles are weak, they can’t respond quickly enough to keep you stable, making it challenging to stay upright on one leg,” says physical therapist Raymond Agostino, PT, DPT, owner of Agostino Athletics. 

Having weak ankle and calf muscles can stem from a lack of targeted exercise, past injuries, or simply inactivity. But unsupportive footwear can also cause ankle weakness over time, says certified Qigong instructor Amy Parker, owner of Qigong with Amy.

When it comes to your ankles, specifically, repeated ankle sprains can weaken your ligaments and muscles, messing with your stability—making it harder to balance on one leg as a result. If you’re prone to ankle sprains, that chronic instability can also impair your proprioception, or the ability to sense where your body parts are at all times. “This instability can cause your ankle to feel like it wants to give out, making it difficult to maintain balance,” Agostino says.

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How to fix it

Your goal should be strengthening and increasing the flexibility in your ankles and calves. For your calves, Agostino recommends starting with bodyweight calf raises and gradually adding resistance with weights or resistance bands. For your ankles, try ankle inversion and eversion exercises using resistance bands.

Calf rase

1. Start standing with your feet together. Grab hold of a sturdy object, like the back of a chair, to help with balance.
2. Press through the balls of your feet to raise your heels off the ground as high as possible.
3. Pause here for a moment then slowly lower your heels back to the floor.
4. Repeat.

Ankle inversion

1. Begin seated in a chair with a flat back and your feet flat on the ground.
2. Loop a resistance band around the middle of your right foot and hold onto the extra length of the resistance band with your right hand.
3. Move your right foot in toward your body as far as you can without moving the rest of your leg.
4. Return your right foot to starting position.
5. Repeat this motion with your right foot for a desired number of reps before switching to your left foot.

Ankle eversion

1. Begin seated in a chair with a flat back and your feet flat on the ground.
2. Loop a resistance band around the middle of your right foot and hold onto the extra length of the resistance band with your right hand.
3. Move your right foot in away from your body as far as you can without moving the rest of your leg.
4. Return your right foot to starting position.
5. Repeat this motion with your right foot for a desired number of reps before switching to your left foot.

Parker suggests doing ankle rotations and rocking exercises for 8 to 15 reps every day. From a seated position, lift your foot slightly off the ground and rotate your ankle clockwise and then counterclockwise. Progress to exercising both ankles simultaneously by rocking them back and forth. In a standing position, raise all 10 toes, then lower them, and rock onto the balls of your feet, lifting your heels; and use a chair or counter for balance and support if you need.

Another way to strengthen the muscles in your ankles and calves is by practicing standing on one leg. If you’re reading this article, chances are you probably can’t balance on one leg just yet, so make sure to hold onto a sturdy surface for support until you’re able to do so free-standing. 

2. You have a proprioceptive deficit

Proprioception is your body’s ability to sense its position and movement in space. “It’s like having an internal GPS for your body parts,” Agostino says. 

When your proprioception is impaired, your brain has a harder time understanding where your limbs are in space, making it a challenge to balance on one leg. This can happen due to injuries, such as ankle sprains, which disrupt the nerve signals, or simply a lack of practice in activities that challenge your balance, Agostino says. 

How to fix it

You’ll want to try new exercises that test your balance. Agostino suggests marching or doing leg swings while standing on a less stable surface, like a balance pad. “This helps retrain your brain to better sense and react to your body’s position,” he says. 

Another way to help improve proprioception is to spend some time training barefoot—this can improve your body’s natural ability to sense and correct imbalances.

Marching exercise

1. Stand with your feet hip-width apart and place your hands on your hips. You can hold onto a sturdy object, like a chair, with one hand to help with balance.
2. Slowly and with control, lift your right knee up toward your chest, then place it back on the ground.
3. Slowly and with control, lift your left knee up toward your chest, then place it back on the ground.
4. Repeat.

3. You’re experiencing vestibular dysfunction

The vestibular system is the medical term for your body’s balance system. “The vestibular system in your inner ear helps regulate balance by processing information about motion, head position, and spatial orientation,” Agostino says. 

Conditions such as inner ear infections and vestibular neuritis can mess with this system and lead to dizziness and balance problems. “People with vestibular dysfunction often feel unsteady and have difficulty maintaining balance, especially on one leg,” Agostino says. 

How to fix it

Perform exercises that involve head movements while balancing, like turning your head side to side or up and down, Agostino says. “This helps your vestibular system adapt to changes in head position and improves overall balance.” 

Head-turn exercise

1. Stand with your right foot in front of your left foot, and place your hands on your hips. You can hold onto a sturdy object, like a chair, to help with balance.
2. Slowly and with control, turn your head to the right, then return it to center.
3. Repeat for the desired number of reps.
4. Then, place your left foot in front of your right foot.
5. Slowly and with control, turn your head to the left, then return it to center.
6. Repeat for the desired number of reps.

But if you find that these exercises make your symptoms worse or cause dizziness, see your doctor for an evaluation. Vestibular dysfunction can be caused by more serious conditions such as exposure to toxins (such as lead), autoimmune disorders, tumors, and more, according to the Cleveland Clinic. So you’ll want to check with your doctor to rule anything out. 

4. You have poor core stability

Your core is at the center of your body, and it’s responsible for centering you, too. “Your core muscles are essential for maintaining overall body balance and control,” Agostino says. “Weak core muscles can result in a lack of stability in your trunk, making it hard to maintain a steady base, especially when balancing on one leg.”

How to fix it

Start doing core exercises regularly to help build strength and stability in those muscles. Agostino loves the bird dog exercise to work on core strength. You don’t need any special equipment to perform these exercises—simply carve out some time in between meetings (if you work from home) or bake these into your workout warmup or cooldown. 

Bird dog

1. Start on your hands and knees with your hands directly in line with your shoulder and knees in line with your hips.
2. Look down at the floor and brace your core (tucking your tailbone just slightly) to create a straight line from the tip of your head to your tailbone.
3. Reach your right arm straight out in front of you until your upper arm is in line with your ear.
4. Simultaneously reach your left leg straight behind you, fully extending your knee.
5. Pause here for a moment.
6. Reverse the motion and return to the starting position.
7. Switch sides, reaching your left arm forward and raising your right leg back.
8. Pause and then return to the starting position.

5. You can’t focus

Not being able to balance on leg might be a matter of the mind, too. “If a restless mind is the issue, focusing on standing on one leg becomes a challenge,” Parker says, referring to the Buddhist principle of being in a state of restlessness or not having control over your thoughts. When our minds and bodies aren’t aligned, our balance can take a hit. 

How to fix it

The Qigong technique of whole-body vibration helps synchronize our mind and body, Parker says. This method involves shaking and bouncing with both feet firmly on the ground, shoes optional.

While shaking, breathe in through your nose and out through your mouth. Exhaling through your mouth helps release physical, mental, and emotional tension. Parker says practicing this shaking for one minute might help you feel grounded enough, so you can test your balance and lift one leg, “as if embodying a crane,” she says.