Let’s start the year off right and retune something we use every single day: BALANCE
Balance is not a skill used only by athletes. We use it every day. When you go from sitting to standing, your lower body is stabilizing your weight transfer. Your core is aiding in your posture and keeping your upper body upright, and your proprioception, aka body awareness, is allowing you to know where your body is in space. So when you start to have trouble with your balance, it can affect your quality of life. What exactly can you do to “fix” or retune your balance?
Here is a list of 5 points that will help:
>Strengthen your lower body
>Check your vision
>Have a physician or Physical Therapist evaluate your inner ear
>Check with your physician to make sure your prescriptions are all up to date
>Declutter your home
Strengthening
Any form of exercise challenges the muscles and the nervous system to increase communication to these areas. With balance therapy, the nervous system communicates with muscles to increase in strength and take on more tasks, ultimately increasing muscle strength. As your nervous system becomes more efficient, it is more skilled at recruiting more muscular power to increase strength and maximize capabilities in everyday functions. Many of the muscles used retraining your vestibular system are unique to your typical training programs and will really provide you with a challenge. By strengthening your lower body, you have just better equipped yourself to have better balance.
Vision
Vision plays an important role in your balance. Have you ever tried to stand on one foot with your eyes closed? It’s difficult. Making sure your prescription for your glasses and contacts is up to date is vital for you to begin retuning 1 of 5 aspects of balance. Impaired vision can hurt you by not being able to focus where you are going. It can alter your depth perception and cause you to miss a step on your porch, or trip over the curb. At FYZICAL Lubbock, we can help you determine if vision, or another aspect, is affecting your balance.
Inner Ear
The inner ear is composed of the cochlea and the main parts of the vestibular system. The vestibular system is one of the sensory systems that provides your brain with information about balance, motion, and the location of your head and body in relation to your surroundings. When discussing balance, BPPV, or vertigo, physical therapists will evaluate your vestibular system. BPPV or Benign Paroxysmal Positional Vertigo, occurs when the calcium crystals get dislodged and migrate to the semicircular canals in your inner ear. This sends false alarms to your brain, making you believe you are falling. This malfunction can then cause you to fall. This is typically treated with repositioning maneuvers. Come see us at FYZICAL Lubbock to get your assessment done today.
Rx Check
Prescriptions are very much needed in certain people’s lives. They are prescribed by physicians to aid in ailments that you cannot fix yourself. However, it is important to get your prescriptions checked regularly, as your levels can alter frequently. It is recommended to get your lab work done, at the minimum, once a year. However, for those with underlying conditions or other ailments, physicians recommend every 3 to 6 months. Certain prescriptions can affect your balance more than others. Some affect the inner ear by altering the amount of fluid interacting with the chemicals in the medicine and other prescriptions have side effects such as balance impairment. With regular check ups with your doctor, you can make sure your prescriptions are not the cause of your dizziness.
Declutter
Lastly, but certainly not least in the list of things to help with your balance is decluttering. How can picking up your shoes and throw blankets help with your balance? It minimizes the number of objects that can cause you to trip and fall. Decluttering your home may not be top on your list of priorities, but you won’t have to worry about tripping over the groceries you just brought in if they are on the counter. If balance is already an issue in your life, it’s best to keep your walking area free of anything you might get tangled up in. Pets are great for companionship and are always part of the family, but be cautious that they do not run in front of you as you are walking. Ask a family member to help you take care of them, if you know you will be walking a lot that day. Or, have an area specifically for them so you don’t have to worry they will be running around the corner and hitting your walker/cane.
Each of these 5 points combine to create increased self-awareness, improved balance and overall decreased risk of falls. Taking steps to improve balance enhances overall health and plays an important role in performing activities.
FYZICAL Can Help
At FYZICAL Therapy and Balance Centers, fall prevention is the cornerstone of our mission; “Balance” is part of our name after all! We are offering FREE Fall Risk Assessments to identify individuals of all ages and conditions at risk of falling.
Falls are preventable. If you or someone you know suffers from imbalance, keep in mind that early intervention is key. Falling is not an inevitable result of aging, and there are steps you can take to improve your balance and decrease chances of falling. By identifying risk, future injuries can be prevented. Our skilled physical therapists will create a program specifically tailored to your needs, so you can begin your quest to regain your footing, your confidence, and your freedom. Let us help you to "Love Your Life" again, and come see us at FYZICAL Lubbock!