Our lives are hectic enough without dealing with something as disorienting as poor balance. Challenges with balance can leave us feeling disconcerted, confused — and scared. We must feel confident in our stability and balance to perform our daily tasks effectively. Fortunately, information is available regarding sense of balance issues; this article sheds light on the condition.
Balance Issues
Balance issues happen when something affects the connection between your central nervous system and your brain that keeps you feeling steady on your feet. Balance issues may be symptoms of certain medical conditions. Healthcare providers treat balance issues by managing any underlying medical conditions and with vestibular rehabilitation therapy created to ease balance issue symptoms.
Overview
What are balance issues?
Your sense of balance helps you stay upright and feel stable as you navigate your way through your day. Your sense of balance relies on a steady flow of information among your ears, eyes, tissues and brain. When something disrupts that flow of information, you lose your sense of balance. Balance issues may be symptoms of certain medical conditions. Healthcare providers treat balance issues by managing the underlying medical condition. You might also need physical therapy.
How does my sense of balance work?
Your sense of balance relies on the relationship between your central nervous system (brain) and your sensory system. Your sensory system includes:
- The vestibular labyrinth in your inner ear: This includes your semicircular canals (loops), which react when you turn your head, and otolith organs that react to gravity and movement.
- Your vision: Your eyes send impulses to your brain that show where your body is in relation to other objects.
- Your skin, joints and muscles: When your body moves, it puts pressure on tissues in your skin, muscles and joints. These tissues send signals to your brain, telling it where your body is in relation to space. For example, if you’re standing up and lean back, you put pressure on the back of your foot and lower leg. That pressure lets your brain know you’re leaning instead of standing straight.
Your central nervous system pulls this information together so it can tell your body how to maintain balance. When something interferes with the system’s connection, your central nervous system can’t process information correctly and you feel unsteady.
Symptoms and Causes
What are balance issue symptoms?
Balance issues cause several symptoms linked to underlying medical conditions or other issues. Balance issue symptoms include:
- Vertigo. Vertigo makes you feel dizzy or like you’re spinning when you’re not.
- Feeling lightheaded or faint.
- Feeling unsteady on your feet (as if you’re about to fall).
- Blurred vision.
Which conditions cause balance issues?
Many things can affect your sense of balance. Many people develop a balance issue as they grow older. But you can develop balance issues at any age. Inner ear disorders, head injuries and neurological conditions may affect your sense of balance.
Inner ear disorders
- Labyrinthitis: Labyrinthitis is inflammation in your labyrinth, the inner ear system that’s responsible for hearing and balance.
- Vestibular neuritis: Vestibular neuritis is inflammation of the vestibulocochlear nerve in your inner ear.
- Benign paroxysmal positional vertigo (BPPV): If you have BPPV, changes in your head position — such as tipping your head backward or sitting up in bed — cause vertigo.
- Ménière’s disease: People with this condition often experience sudden vertigo.
- Acoustic neuroma: This noncancerous tumor in your inner ear may affect your balance.
- Persistent postural perceptual dizziness (PPPD): Bouts of dizziness and feeling unsteady that are brought on by things or activities going on around you, like being around crowds. PPPD symptoms come and go.
Other medical conditions
Balance issues may be a symptom of several different medical conditions:
- Neurological conditions: Alzheimer’s disease and Parkinson’s disease are examples of medical conditions that may affect your sense of balance.
- Cardiovascular disease: Heart issues may make you feel faint, lightheaded or dizzy and affect your balance.
- Postural hypotension: Low blood pressure that happens when you stand up from sitting or lying down.
- Head injuries: A concussion is an example of a head injury that may affect your balance.
- Peripheral neuropathy: This condition affects nerves outside your brain or spinal cord. Nerves carry signals your brain uses to keep track of your hands and feet. You may have balance issues if something affects the connection between your brain and certain nerves.
- Headaches or migraines: Headaches and vestibular migraines may affect your balance.
- Motion sickness: Motion sickness may make you feel dizzy and affect your balance.
Diagnosis and Tests
How do healthcare providers diagnose balance issues?
Healthcare providers diagnose balance problems with a physical exam. They’ll ask about your symptoms and medical history. They’ll probably use several kinds of tests included in a vestibular test battery:
- Videonystagmography (VNG): This test gives providers information about how parts of your inner ear system and eyes work. You’ll need to wear goggles so providers can monitor your eye movements as you complete different tasks (such as following a target and moving your head and body in different directions).
- Rotary chair: This test checks the reflex between your ears and eyes. To do this test, you’ll wear goggles and sit in a motorized chair that moves right and left. Your provider will ask you to keep your eyes open and answer questions as the chair moves.
- Modified clinical test of sensory interaction on balance (mCTSIB): This test shows how the sense of touch in your feet, vision and inner ears affect your balance. You’ll take off your shoes, stand on a foam and firm surface, both with eyes open and closed, and stay as steady as possible for 30 seconds.
- Video head impulse test (VHIT): This test checks the reflex between your ears and eyes in response to quick head movements. You’ll wear goggles that record your eye movements while you stare at a target. Your provider will move your head right and left or up and down.
- Vestibular-evoked myogenic potentials (VEMP): This test checks on specific parts of your inner ear system. You’ll sit in a chair and turn your head to the left and right and stare at a target while you listen to a series of tones.
- Dynamic visual acuity testing (DVA): This test evaluates how well your inner ear balance system works when you move your head. You’ll look at a computer screen and identify a target on the screen while your head is still, and then while you move your head right or left and up or down.
Management and Treatment
What is the best treatment for balance issues?
Healthcare providers treat balance issues by managing the cause. They may recommend vestibular rehabilitation therapy, a special form of physical therapy that involves exercises and techniques that may help you to manage your balance issues.
Prevention
Can people prevent balance issues?
Because many different things cause balance issues, it’s not possible to prevent some of them. Talk to a healthcare provider about your balance issues. They may be symptoms of underlying conditions that require treatment.
Outlook / Prognosis
What can I expect if I have balance issues?
Your healthcare provider is your best resource of information about what you can expect. If you have a medical condition that causes balance issues, your providers will treat that condition. You may also need therapy to learn ways to manage your balance issues. It may take some time for treatment and therapy to make a difference.
Living With
I have balance issues. How do I take care of myself?
Knowing why you have balance issues is the first step toward getting better. Here are some suggestions that may help you manage your balance issues:
- Maintain a weight that’s healthy for you.
- Strengthen your core. Your core (the muscles in your midsection or abdomen) helps stabilize your whole body.
- “Fall proof” your surroundings. Balance issues increase your risk of falling. Check the areas where you usually walk and remove items that could trip you up, like rugs and electrical cords.
- Take your time. If you have balance issues, give yourself time to get up if you’ve been sitting down. If you feel unsteady when you get up, walk slowly.
When should I see my healthcare provider?
Contact your healthcare provider if your balance issues get worse after treatment.
What questions should I ask my provider?
Balance issues happen for many different reasons. Here are some questions that may help you understand your balance issues and what can be done to resolve them:
- What’s causing my balance issues?
- What are treatments for the condition causing my balance issues?
- Will my balance issues go away?
A note from Cleveland Clinic
Most people have experienced losing their balance. But ongoing balance issues may be symptoms of underlying medical conditions. It can be disorienting and sometimes frightening to lose your sense of balance. Balance issues can affect your quality of life. If you’re concerned about your sense of balance, talk to a healthcare provider.
Capernum Physical Therapy supports patients through traumatic injuries by fostering a safe environment to address concerns. We collaborate with patients to tailor care plans, facilitate recovery, and, most importantly, provide assurance that a positive outcome is on the horizon. Connect with a friendly Capernum physical therapist and discover how we can assist you! Call us for a complimentary consultation today at 201.308.3884 or join our Instagram community here.
Reference: [ https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/diseases/21021-balance-problems ]
The Role of Physical Therapy in Sports Injury Rehabilitation
It would be great if our bodies were infallible! But of course, they are not, and the best we can do is keep ourselves in the best physical health possible. Yet, even then, we can experience problematic areas: Joint pain, muscle stiffness, inflammation, and sore body parts. Pain can occur for countless reasons, and it is debilitating when it does. Here is a helpful insight into a common problematic area — shoulder pain.
Shoulder Pain
What Is Shoulder Pain?
Shoulder pain is any type of pain or discomfort you feel in your shoulder. Your shoulder is called a ball-and-socket joint. It can move in many directions and it’s considered to be the most movable joint in the body. But it’s actually two joints (the acromioclavicular joint and the glenohumeral joint).
Your shoulder joins with your upper-arm bone (humerus), shoulder blade (scapula), and collarbone (clavicle). The humerus fits into the rounded socket of the scapula. Each shoulder is held in place by a group of four muscles and tendons, called a rotator cuff, which covers and protects the humerus and lets you raise and move your arm.
There are also ligaments that hold bone to bone, and a sac filled with fluid that cushions the humerus head inside the joint. Because there are so many parts to the shoulder, there are many reasons why your shoulder might hurt. You might injure it in a fall or accident, or you could have overdone a chore like painting. Sometimes, shoulder pain comes from a condition like arthritis. It can even stem from problems in other parts of your body, which is called referred pain.
Depending on what’s causing the pain, it can be sharp or achy. It can be sudden or come on gradually. It can also stop you from doing some of your regular activities. Using a painful shoulder could cause further damage, so it’s important to find out why your shoulder hurts and get treatment as soon as possible.
Shoulder Injury Symptoms
The shoulder’s ball-and-socket joint gives you great range of motion, but it comes at the expense of stability. The shoulder joint gets dislocated more often than any other joint in the body. And repeated stress from the way you use your shoulders on the job or playing sports can lead to tears and other injuries.
Capernum PT has expertly trained physical therapists who will help you address those aches and pains — wherever you feel them! Our friendly team can assess your unique situation, create a personalized care plan, and guide you toward optimal healing and health! Visit Capernum PT and learn why our patients prefer our treatment. Call us for a complimentary consultation today at 201.308.3884 or join our Instagram community here.
Reference: [ https://www.webmd.com/pain-management/why-does-my-shoulder-hurt ]
Physical Therapy for Post-Surgical Recovery
We all know stretching is beneficial. Even our bodies let us know — we reflexively stretch when we wake up in the morning or when we’ve been sitting too long at our desks at work. So, it only makes sense that we should incorporate stretching into our day in some capacity — especially if we are working out and asking our bodies to perform at an elevated level! These are some of the best stretches for cooling down after a running session — you will not regret it!
The best stretches to do after running
Want to nail your running recovery? Add these post-run stretches to your cool down routine
Let’s face it, we’ve all been guilty – probably multiple times – of forgetting to stretch after a run. We’d rather dive into the shower, inhale some food or rush to work instead. But, while it may be more time-efficient to skip those post-run stretches, in the long term it could come back to bite us by hindering our recovery and increasing our risk of injury. So, here’s everything you need to know about stretches for runners – and the best ones to do after training.
Why should runners stretch?
Stretching after a run helps to promote blood flow to the muscles, which enables them to repair and recover more quickly from the workout. It also helps to remove lactic acid and waste products and reduce any muscle and joint soreness that could negatively impact your next run.
What’s more, gentle post-run stretching can also improve the flexibility of your running muscles and improve your range of motion, leaving you less susceptible to muscle strains and overuse injuries.
Don’t forget to integrate dynamic stretches into your running warm-up routine, too, to prepare your body for the activity ahead. Just like post-run stretches, these dynamic warm-up movements can reduce your risk of muscle strain injuries and contribute to better running performance. Meanwhile, evidence shows that static stretching – the kind of stretching that is recommended post-run – is in fact counter-productive pre-run, so always stick to the dynamic kind.
Top tips for post-run stretches
- Ease into each stretch – don’t bounce on it or force it.
- Never push a stretch to the point where you’re in discomfort or pain.
- Hold each post-run stretch for up to 30 seconds – repeat this once or twice on each leg.
- Avoid stretches that can hamper your performance or increase your risk of a pull or tear – the stretches for runners outlined below are great options to stick with.
- Again, stick to dynamic stretches before a run – save the static stretches for when you get back.
The 13 best stretches for runners
Here is our pick of the best post-run stretches for you to try – depending on how you feel or which muscles feel tight, you could do some or all of them after each run. This list includes some deeper post-run stretches if you need to work on specific muscles, as well as some full-body stretches that target multiple muscle groups.
As a reminder, hold each post-run stretch for around half a minute and repeat it once or twice on each leg.
1. Lying hamstring stretch
- Lie on the floor and keep your upper body relaxed and both legs straight as you pull one leg towards you.
- As a variation, lie down as before and bend your upper knee toward your chest. With a non-stretching band or cord around the foot of your bent leg, push away with this foot and try to straighten the leg against the tension of the cord.
- You should feel the stretch higher up the hamstring.
2. Lying glute stretch
- Lie on the floor and bend both of your knees, keeping your feet on the floor.
- Adjust the angle of your hips and front knee to intensify the stretch.
- Place the ankle of one leg on the opposite knee and grasp the thigh of your bottom leg, pulling both legs into your chest.
- Leave your grasped leg bent or extend it upwards.
- You’ll feel a stretch in the muscles around the side of your buttocks.
3. Groin stretch
- Sit on the floor, place the soles of your feet together and let your knees drop out to the side.
- Gently use your leg muscles to move your knees towards the ground.
- Keep a straight back and bring your feet closer to your body to intensify the stretch.
4. Straight leg calf stretch
- Step your left leg forward with your knee bent and foot flat on the floor.
- Extend your right leg straight back, putting your heel flat on the floor, and place your hands against a wall.
- Keep your right leg straight and lean into the wall until you feel a stretch in the right calf.
5. Soleus (lower calf) stretch
- Stand closer to the wall and bend your front leg, keeping your back leg straight with your foot flat on the floor.
- Lean your hips back to bend both legs.
- You should feel a stretch in the lower calf of your bent leg.
6. Hip flexor stretch
- Kneel on the ground on one leg, with the other leg out in front of you and positioned at a 90 degree angle.
- Lean your hips forward, keeping your hips square and your upper body vertical – slumping forward reduces the stretch.
7. Standing quadriceps stretch
- Stand on one leg and bend the knee of your opposite leg by grasping your ankle with one hand.
- Flex your foot and keep your body straight to maximise the stretch through the front of your bent leg.
- You can put one hand on a wall to help you balance.
Deeper stretches for runners
If you’re looking for a deeper stretch for your quads, hamstrings, or glutes, try these individual stretches after your runs.
8. Keeling quadriceps stretch against a wall
This post-run stretch targets your quads:
- With a wall behind you, kneel on the floor on one leg.
- Bend the knee of your rear leg and rest the toes of your rear foot against the wall.
- Extend forward from the hips so you feel a stretch at the front of the thigh of your front leg.
- Take care if you have ankle problems and stay tall in your upper body to avoid compressing your lower back.
9. Bent-leg standing hamstring stretch
This post-run stretch targets your hamstrings – make sure you are thoroughly warmed up before you attempt it:
- Standing on one leg, position one foot on a chair or ledge and bend your upper leg deeply, moving your chest down onto your thigh.
- Keep your chest low and gently try to straighten your upper leg.
10. Cross-legged sitting glute stretch
This post-run stretch targets your glutes:
- Start in a cross-legged position with your back upright.
- Your shins should be parallel to your body and your feet should be as far out to the sides as you can get them.
- Keeping a straight back, bend forward with your arms outstretched.
Full-body stretches for runners
These stretches target more than one muscle group at once, including those in your upper body – the area that’s often neglected by runners.
11. Downward-facing dog
This post-run stretch targets your hamstrings, calves, Achilles tendons, back and shoulders:
- Keep your feet hip-width apart and your hands shoulder-width apart.
- Keep your legs straight and your hips high as you lengthen your heels towards the ground – but don’t worry if they don’t reach.
- Press your palms and fingers flat into the ground – you should feel as though you’re trying to push the floor apart between your hands and feet.
- Enhance the stretch by gently bending alternate knees to shift your weight from one leg to another.
12. Lying spinal twist
This post-run stretch targets your glutes, lower back, upper back, shoulders, arms and chest.
- Start on your back with both legs straight.
- Hug your right knee toward your chest and hook your right foot behind your left knee.
- Roll to your left side so your right knee touches the floor.
- Extend your right arm toward the floor on your right side at head height and turn your head to look along it.
- Relax into the posture, then repeat this for the opposite side.
13. Forward-bend shoulder stretch
This post-run stretch targets your hamstrings, calves, shoulders, chest and arms.
- Stand with your feet hip-width apart.
- Fold over your body at the hips, interlacing your fingers together.
- Make sure your head is facing the ground, your quads are tensed and your neck is relaxed.
- Put your hands on your hips before you stand back up to avoid possible lower-back strain.
Regardless of your level of physical activity, meeting with a physical therapist can help you in countless ways. The caring and knowledgeable physical therapy staff at Capernum PT can help you establish a stretching routine that best suits your goals; they can also assess any aches and pains and support your journey to optimal health! Call us for a complimentary consultation today at 201.308.3884 or join our Instagram community here.
Reference: [ https://www.runnersworld.com/uk/health/a760484/runners-stretches/ ]
