Balance Therapy
What is Balance Therapy?
Balance therapy is a remedial program to treat balance problems and improve the stability and balance of your body. Several medical conditions can cause balance problems, but the most common contributor is a disturbance of the inner ear (vestibular system).
Significance of Balance Therapy
Many of your body’s structures like the heart, blood vessels, nerves, muscles and bones need to operate normally for you to have normal balance. If they fail to function well, you will experience balance issues.
Balance problems can make you dizzy or unsteady and may sometimes accompany blurred vision. You will experience a floating sensation or feel as though you are spinning or moving when you are actually lying down, sitting or standing still. You may sway when you try to stand or walk. Balance problems can lead to an increased likelihood of suffering falls frequently and therefore interfere with your daily activities.
Balance therapy helps you to maintain the right body balance and ensure safe functional mobility.
Who Needs Balance Therapy?
People 65 or older with limited functional disability or with arthritis are potential candidates for balance therapy. However, there are other factors that may necessitate the need for balance therapy. These include the following:
- Inner ear problems
- Neurological issues like stroke
- High or low blood pressure
- Vertigo (feeling of spinning)
- Medication side effects
- Previous surgery aftereffects
- Head or athletic injury
- Viral infections
- Impaired vision
Who Provides Balance Therapy?
Typically, a trained therapist who understands the balance system and its relationship with other systems in the body designs and provides balance therapy specific to an individual patient. He or she will first physically examine the patient, assess the symptoms and medical history, and perform balance-related tests to identify the cause of the imbalance. Then a precise therapy program will be designed.
Balance Therapy Options
Balance impairment can be treated in several ways. A balance therapy program usually involves any or a combination of the exercises below, depending on the cause and/or intensity of the balance problem.
Balance exercises (balance retraining)
- It is the preferred line of therapy in most cases and includes simple, easy-to-do workouts that can be done at home. Some of the best exercises include the following:
- Heel-to-toe walk, one-leg stand, sideways walking
- Side-stepping, sit-to-stands, over-the-shoulder walk
- Tight-rope walk, head or body rotations, Tai Chi or yoga
- If the balance problem is caused by a condition called benign paroxysmal positional vertigo (BPPV), a disorder of the inner ear and the most common cause of vertigo, your best treatment may be the Epley maneuver exercise.
You will need to perform balance exercises only after checking with your therapist to ensure they are appropriate and safe for you to do.
Diet and lifestyle changes
- This is mostly recommended if you have Meniere's disease, a disorder of the inner ear that causes vertigo.
- Remedies may include more fluid intake, quitting smoking (if applicable), limiting alcohol and salt intake, and eating balanced meals.
Medications
- In cases of severe vertigo, you are likely to be treated with medication or will be asked to stop your current medications in favor of new ones.
Benefits
Key benefits of balance therapy include:
- Strengthens muscles and keeps you upright
- Increases stability, mobility and activity
- Restores and maintains your body’s balance
- Prevents falls and risk of injuries
- Improves overall health and fitness levels
- Helps you carry out daily activities more easily
If you are experiencing balance issues, California Head and Neck Specialists can help you with balance therapy in . California Head and Neck Specialists is staffed by therapists who are specially trained to deal with balance problems. California Head and Neck Specialists’s therapists use the latest therapy techniques available, perform comprehensive evaluations, and develop individualized therapy programs for the best outcome. Balance therapy at California Head and Neck Specialists means no staggering, no tripping and no more falling! Young or old, trust California Head and Neck Specialists’s experts and regain your balance again.
If you wish to be advised on your condition and the most appropriate treatment, please call to schedule an appointment or click here to request an appointment online.
