Balance Physical TherapyIn Connecticut, Maryland, Massachusetts, & New York

Balance therapy can dramatically improve your quality of life. After treatment, the benefits you may notice are:

• More confidence
• Better posture 
• Improved coordination
• Faster reaction times
• Increased strength  
• Decreased fall risk
• Increased body awareness
• Decreased Stress

What Makes Me Feel Balanced?

You maintain your balance through a mix of your vision, vestibular and proprioceptive systems. These three systems inform the brain about your body’s position and movement. This allows your body to make adjustments as needed and maintain stability.

Vision

A good sense of balance partly relies on your ability to see clearly. This involves seeing where you are in relation to your surroundings. This information is communicated to your brain, then sent to receptors in your muscles and joints.  

Vestibular System

Your vestibular system is in your inner ear and contains sensory organs called otoliths and semicircular canals. They detect head movements along with tiny crystals. These little crystals can cause the vestibular system's most common problem, BPPV. When they get dislodged, they make you feel dizzy and disoriented.

All vestibular disorders cause balance issues. But not all balance problems mean an issue with the vestibular system. However, most balance issues involve a problem with the vestibular system. Vestibular disorders cause symptoms like dizziness and vertigo. They can cause feelings of dizziness and instability even when sitting down. When this happens, your inner ear's structures aren't working. This affects your sense of orientation in space.

When it functions well, the brain gets information from the vestibular system. It then sends it to the eyes, joints, and muscles. This allows you to maintain balance and stability and know your body's position. 

The Proprioceptive System

Proprioception is the body's ability to sense its position, movement, and forces acting on it. For example, it lets you feel the weight of a heavy blanket when you lie under it. If you close your eyes, do you know that you are upright? Your sense of proprioception allows that. Proprioceptors are in your skin, muscles, and joints. 

When damage occurs to the proprioceptive system, it can cause:

• Balance issues and frequent falling
• Dizziness
• Clumsiness
• Uncoordinated movements
• Frequently dropping items
• Not knowing your own strength
• Under- or over-shooting actions (like missing an object you reach for)

What are the Conditions that Can Make Me Feel Dizzy or Lightheaded?

Some conditions that make you feel dizzy involve direct damage to the vestibular system. Some are purely problems with your vision. Proproprioceptive disorders are usually an indirect result of another injury or medical condition. 

The conditions that can cause you to feel dizzy and unstable vary widely. They range from neurological and cardiovascular disorders to congenital conditions and orthopedic injuries. 

• Orthopedic trauma (like an ankle sprain or joint replacement)
• Neurological conditions (e.g. stroke, Parkinson’s disease, multiple sclerosis)
• BPPV: Benign paroxysmal positional vertigo is the most common vestibular disorder causing vertigo.
• Meniere's disease
• Ear infections 
• Anemia
• Low blood pressure and poor circulation
• Visual disturbance
• Stress and anxiety
• Neuropathy (commonly seen with diabetes)
• Respiratory disorders (like COPD or emphysema)

Do weak muscles contribute to balance disorders? 

Yes! Your muscles contain proprioceptors that send feedback to the brain. Strength training stimulates these sensory receptors and increases their efficiency. It is not just about building stronger muscles. It strengthens the neural pathways that control balance. Strength training is one of the most effective tools for improving your balance.

Maintaining balance is a mix of the above three systems working well together. But, the stronger your muscles, the better they adapt to the signals from those systems. In other words, your body reacts faster to changes in position and head movements. This lets your body make precise adjustments to maintain balance.

How are Balance and Stability Issues treated in PT and OT?

If diagnosed with BPPV, your therapist may use techniques aimed at moving the inner ear crystals back to where they belong. They may also instruct you in specific exercises for vertigo. 

Vestibular balance therapy* usually involves the following three training exercises:

• Habituation: This practice is for people who get dizzy while moving or changing positions. Habituation training is also for those who get dizzy in visually stimulating situations. It involves repeatedly exposing your body/eyes to movements that provoke symptoms. You do this until those scenarios no longer make you feel dizzy.
• Gaze Stabilization: This training is for those who struggle to focus their eyes when reading, looking around, or walking. A simple example would be to fix your eyes on a spot on the wall while moving your head. This allows the eyes, inner ear, and brain to learn to work together again after damage to these systems.
• Balance Training: These exercises help you stay steady on your feet and reduce fall risk.

Sometimes, other body parts, not the vestibular system, cause your balance issues. In this case, treatment focuses on strength training, aerobic conditioning, and skin sensation exercises for neuropathy. It also includes proprioceptive and balance exercises. These help reduce dizziness and improve walking ability without losing balance. 

Physical Therapy for Balance at MOTION

We thoroughly evaluate your symptoms and medical history and your treatment depends on the results of this exam. Most commonly, you will receive a mix of specific vestibular training and overall strengthening. Our therapists tailor treatment to your specific problems with our main goal being your satisfaction and improving your quality of life.

*Note: Vestibular balance therapy is only provided at select locations.