How Physical Therapy Can Help You Find Better Balance and Stability

Stand and Walk With Confidence And A Sure Step

Do you ever feel unsteady on your feet? Have you noticed it’s getting harder to navigate stairs or uneven surfaces? Maybe you’ve even had a close call or two, and now you’re worried about falling.

Feeling nervous about falling is reasonable, especially if you’re older. Falls are one of the most common causes of injury and hospitalization among older adults, although they can impact younger people, particularly if they’re recovering from surgery or injury. Furthermore, balance challenges can dramatically impact your quality of life, making it tough to stay active and independent.

At Harter Physical Therapy, we understand your concern. However, we also want to make it clear that falls are not an inevitable part of aging! There are steps you can take to enhance your overall balance and stability, which can help keep you on your feet for years to come. Even better, you don’t have to do it alone. Our team of movement specialists is here to help.

Why Do We Need Balance And Stability?

Firstly, balance and stability aren’t the same thing, although they are connected:

• Balance is the ability to maintain your center of gravity over your base of support. Essentially, it means you can stay upright.
• Stability is the ability to resist forces that threaten to disrupt balance, such as a bump in the sidewalk or a playful nudge from a grandchild. 

To reduce your risk of falls, you want to enhance both of these factors. Standing on one foot might mean you have good balance, but if you have poor stability, it won’t necessarily protect you from falling.

How Do I Know If I Need to Work on Balance And Stability?

Many factors can contribute to balance and stability problems, including the following:

• Age-related decline in muscle strength, mobility, and reaction time
• A history of falls
• Medical conditions that affect mobility, such as arthritis
• Inner ear disorders (which often cause dizziness and vertigo)
• Neurological conditions like stroke or Parkinson’s disease
• Vision challenges
• Certain medications

Generally speaking, if you’re experiencing symptoms like feeling unsteady or dizzy, frequent falls or near falls, difficulty walking or turning, or needing to use furniture or walls for support, reach out to Harter Physical Therapy. We’ll help you develop a program that addresses your specific needs.

How Physical Therapy Helps Enhance Balance And Stability

Physical therapy addresses the underlying factors contributing to your balance or stability challenges. That’s why our team will also begin with a thorough evaluation to help us understand the reasons for your fall risk. 

We’ll discuss your health history, evaluate your balance, strength, and movement patterns with a few simple movement screens, and learn more about your concerns. That way, we can blend various treatment techniques to create a unique, effective treatment program. 

Some of these techniques might include:

Strength Training 

• Good core and lower body strength are essential for enhanced stability. A strong core, in particular, helps stabilize your body so you can stay on your feet.

Balance and Proprioceptive Training

• This technique focuses on improving your body’s awareness of its position in space. By challenging your balance with exercises on unstable surfaces or with your eyes closed, you can retrain your body to react more quickly and efficiently to changes in your environment.

Gait Training

• An impaired walking pattern can affect your balance and increase your risk of falling. If necessary, we’ll help correct these impairments with personalized, targeted exercises.

Vestibular Rehabilitation Therapy (VRT)

• If you’re struggling with vestibular dysfunction, we’ll guide you through specific exercises that retrain your brain to understand signals from your inner ear and improve balance.

Functional Activities

• We’ll teach you how to execute functional activities, like walking, turning your head while walking or standing, reaching for something on a shelf while standing, and carrying objects.

Feeling Off-Balance? It Could Be These Vestibular Disorders

Balance challenges can develop for many reasons, including an underlying problem with your vestibular system. This is the part of your body responsible for spatial awareness and helping you maintain balance. It’s located in your cerebellum and inner ear and transmits information about your body positioning to your brain.

As you might expect, balance is one of the primary things affected when something goes wrong in your vestibular system. Fortunately, the team at Harter Physical Therapy can help you understand your symptoms and get the relief you need.

Three Common Vestibular Disorders You Should Know

Benign Paroxysmal Positional Vertigo (BPPV)  

BPPV is one of the most common causes of vertigo, a spinning sensation. It occurs when tiny calcium crystals in the inner ear become dislodged, disrupting the function of the vestibular system. BPPV is often triggered by specific head movements, like tilting your head back or rolling over in bed.  

Ménière’s Disease

Ménière’s disease is a chronic condition that causes fluid buildup in the inner ear. It’s characterized by episodes of vertigo, often accompanied by tinnitus (ringing in the ears), hearing loss, and a feeling of fullness in the ear. 

Vestibular Neuritis

Vestibular neuritis is an inflammation of the vestibular nerve, which transmits signals from the inner ear to the brain. It’s often caused by a viral infection and typically results in the sudden onset of vertigo, dizziness, nausea, and difficulty with balance. Symptoms usually improve over time, but we can help speed up recovery and improve balance function.  

Curried Chicken Toasted Sandwiches

A classic dish of the 1950s reinvented! Make Curried Chicken Toasted Sandwiches by mixing shredded roast chicken with mayo, yogurt and chutney, then spice up the filling with curry powder.

INGREDIENTS:

• 1.5 tbsp curry powder
• 2 tbsp chutney
• 4 tbsp mayonnaise
• 1 lime juiced
• 4 tbsp plain yogurt
• 2 cooked chicken breasts shredded
• 6 slices white bread
• 1/4 tsp black pepper to season
• 1/4 tsp salt to season
• 1 tbsp margarine for spreading

Instructions:

• To prepare the filling- mix the curry powder, chutney, mayonnaise, lime juice and yogurt together and season to taste with salt and pepper.
• Stir in the shredded chicken.
• Divide the filling evenly between the slices of bread and spread both the outer sides of the bread with margarine.
• Grill in a pan or in a sandwich grill for about 5 minutes or until golden brown and crispy on both sides.