Did you know according to the Center for Disease Control, more than one third of adults 65+ fall each year in the United States and 20-30% of those people who fall suffer moderate to severe injuries? Why be a statistic if you don’t have to?
How Balance in the Body Works
Balance is complex and comes from multiples systems in the body working together to maintain stability or what we call equilibrium. Those system include:
The Visual System: Vision provides information to the brain about where you are in relation to your surroundings.
The Somatosensory System: In our muscles, tendons, joints and skin you have sensors that let relay information to the brain regarding your position in space.
The Vestibular System: Comprised of organs in your inner ear that sense head movement and ensure that your eyes adjust focus as your head moves.
Problems in any of these systems can alter a person’s balance and potentially put them at risk for falls. Examples of things that can alter these system include: vertigo, loss of muscle mass due to inactivity and age related vision changes, just to name a few. In addition to a change in any of the above mentioned systems, other factors can potentially increase risk of falls.
What Else Can Increase Your Risk of Falls?
- Being 80+ years old
- Muscle weakness
- Vision problems
- Conditions that cause confusion (ie. Alzheimer’s)
- Taking more than 4 medications at the same time (specifically sedatives/antidepressants)
- Low blood pressure
- History of previous falls
- Using a cane or walking device
- Home hazards (rugs, pets under your feet)
Tips to Improve Balance and Prevent Falls
Are those frames more than just out of style? When was the last time you had your eyes checked? Is your prescription up to date? As mentioned earlier, vision plays a large role in balance. A quick an easy way to improve balance is to ensure your visual system is functioning at its fullest potential by having regular eye exams.
Medications
Are you taking more than 4 medications? Do you know the side effects of those medications? If you don’t, just ask! Talk to your primary care physician, pharmacist or physical therapist. Some medications can cause dizziness, drowsiness, and low blood pressure and even gait or vision disturbances.
Change Your Base of Support
Your base of support is the area between your body’s contact points on the ground. If you are standing normally, it is the space between your feet. The wider your base of support – the more stability you have a.k.a the easier it is to balance. The narrower you base of support – the harder it is to balance.
In order to improve your balance you must challenge it. You can challenge balance by making your base of support smaller. Examples include:
- standing with your feet next to each other
- standing with your feet staggered
- standing with one foot in front of the other
- standing on one foot
Eventually working up to holding that posture for 30 sec at a time. (This should be done in front of a study surface like the kitchen counter or bathroom sink for safety purposes).
Get Stronger
Did you know muscle mass decreases as people age making older individuals more likely to have weakness in important leg muscles? Muscles can also atrophy, or get weaker, with disuse or during periods of inactivity. Weakness in muscles, the ones in your legs, can increase fall risk. To decrease fall risk and improve balance strengthening exercises should be targeted at muscles of the hip, knee, ankle and foot.
This overview of balance and fall prevention is not a substitute for an examination by a physical therapist. Physical therapists are trained through education and clinical experience to evaluate and treat individuals with a variety of balance disorders. If you have fallen, feel you are at risk of falling or would like to improve your balance seek advice from the team at Premier Physical Therapy.
To a healthy, balanced life!
Natalie Lovitz, PT, DPT
To request and appoint with Dr. Natalie Lovitz, physical therapist click here:
Did you find this post helpful? Do you know someone who has fallen or is experiencing loss of balance as they age?
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References
Barbara Cadario and BC Falls and Injury Prevention. (2011, August). Medications and the Risk of Falling.Retrieved from http://http://www.health.gov.bc.ca/prevention/pdf/medications-and-the-risk-of-falling.pdf.
Shannon L.G. Hoffman and APTA’s Neurology Section. (2011, June 1). How Your Balance System Works .Retrieved from http://http://www.moveforwardpt.com/resources/detail.aspx?cid=96045076-7b7f-4842-9419-477960018747#.VNnwwIY8KrU.
Move Forward PT. (2011, June 02). Physical Therapist Guide to Falls.Retrieved from http://http://www.moveforwardpt.com/symptomsconditionsdetail.aspx?cid=85726fb6-14c4-4c16-9a4c-3736dceac9f0#.VNnxVYY8KrU.
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