If You’re Clumsy, It’s Not Your Fault! There’s A Scientific Reason Behind It

We all have that one friend whose neurological coordination is like that of an 8-month toddler. In my case, I’m that one guy and I’m not talking about people with serious ailments – that’s not cool – I’m talking about the fact that I have a knack of walking into trouble. I realize it isn’t just a lapse in concentration or a momentary distraction, if you’re like me you probably see it coming from far away and still trip. But, don’t worry, there’s a scientific reason behind our clumsiness and, rejoice with me, there’s a cure for it as well.

Here’s what’s going on with your klutz brain.

In 2007, the University of Delaware decided to study why certain people are more accident prone, and generally clumsy.

A team of researches decided to study 1500 college athletes for their anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injuries, focusing on injuries that were caused by an awkward landing or misstep instead of those caused by collision with other players. In fact, between 72% – 95% of ACL injuries happen through non-contact mechanisms.

The team tested the athletes for their reaction time.

As it turned out, later that season, 80 of these athletes suffered non-contact injuries. The research team then compared the 80 who suffered injuries with 80 athletes who didn’t, based on their height, weight, gender, sport and position.

As expected, those who suffered the injuries showed dramatically lower results from the test.

Most of those suffering the ill-fated self induced injury happened to show much lower reaction times and processing speeds, including lower visual and verbal memory scores, than those without injuries. Which means that certain people are just prone to errors in coordination during physical activity that can lead to injuries.

Yes, there is a cure.

For those who suffer from this dreadful problem, there is a manner in which you can cure it by basically improving on coordination. A combination of brain exercises can help minimize distractions, stress and anxiety, and improve your overall neurological performance.