If you want to improve your balance, there are multiple steps you can take. Having good balance can not only improve your physicality but can also reduce your risk of falls, which can be increasingly dangerous as you age. For this reason, maintaining – and improving – balance as you age is very important.
As a chiropractor in the Chesapeake region of Virginia for more than 2 decades, I have extensive experience helping my patients optimize their balance. In this article, I will share my top balance tips.
Why Is Good Balance Important?
Good balance is important not only in avoiding injuries and falls, but also in maintaining physical activity and mobility. With good balance, you increase your chances of living a mobile, fall-free life. Having good balance increases your confidence to take part in physical activities, which helps you stay strong, active, and healthy.
What Can Interfere With Good Balance?
Multiple problems can interfere with good balance, including:
- Vision problems: Vision and balance are closely tied together. Vision problems can make you dizzy, which can harm your sense of balance. The vestibulo-ocular reflex coordinates the movement of your head and eyes, so that when your head moves, your eyes counterbalance the movement. Problems with this neurological reflex is a major cause of balance problems.Hearing problems: Hearing and balance are closely linked. Your hearing and balance abilities share a nerve in your brain called the vestibulocochlear nerve. Problems with this nerve, or with other parts of its brain pathway, can cause balance problems including vertigo.
- Problems with the nervous system: The central nervous system, including the brain’s cerebellum, coordinates your ability to balance. For this reason, a variety of central nervous system problems can cause balance problems. These problems range from degenerative disorders like Parkinson’s Disease, to cardiovascular issues like having a stroke.
- Low muscle strength: Good balance requires strong muscles, especially in your core – your abdomen, back, spine, torso, pelvis, and buttocks. Having weak muscles can lead to poor balance for this reason.
- Improper musculoskeletal alignment: Your central nervous system works best when your spine and joints are properly aligned. Improper alignment not only leads to instability but can cause muscle and joint groups to become overworked and weakened, harming your balance.
How Can I Improve My Balance?
You can improve your balance in many ways. These include:
- Strengthening your core muscles: Increasing strength in your core muscles can improve your balance and stamina. Your chiropractor can recommend back-friendly exercises that increase your core muscle strength.
- Exercise specifically for balance: Specific exercise forms like yoga and tai-chi focus on slow, stretching movements that can increase your strength, balance, and flexibility.
- Optimize your spinal alignment: Your spine is designed to help you keep your balance – but it needs to have proper alignment to do so. Spinal imbalance can lead to overworked and weakened muscles. A chiropractor can help to improve your spinal alignment by improving your spinal biomechanics.
How Can Chiropractic Care Improve My Balance?
A chiropractor can help you improve your balance by improving your spinal alignment. As an expert in spinal care, a chiropractor can diagnose and treat problems with your spinal alignment. If left untreated, poor spinal alignment can increase the risk of injury, pain, and weakness, which contribute to balance problems.
A chiropractor can also optimize your range of motion. Poorly aligned muscles and joints can hinder your range of motion, but chiropractic care helps to realign your spine into its natural position. This improved range of motion allows you more freedom of movement, allowing you to balance your body more easily.
Many people feel that chiropractic care can help improve their balance and dizziness. This is particularly true for older people, who have an increased likelihood of seeing a benefit from chiropractic care on treating balance and dizziness.
Achieving Better Balance at Precision Spinal Care
As a certified NUCCA chiropractor and spine management physician, I work closely with you to improve your balance.
To accomplish this, during your first visit, I will do a thorough examination. Afterward, I will go over my evaluation with you in detail. Together, we will set reasonable expectations and milestones. We will also put together a treatment plan that meets your care needs, taking the root cause of your condition into account. I will reevaluate you to make sure you are meeting your goals.
My experience and expertise in spinal biomechanics allow me to competently and safely address your back issues. I am a trauma and hospital-qualified spine management physician. I have credentials in MRI spine interpretation, spinal biomechanical engineering, and orthopedic testing through the Academy of Chiropractic. I am also a fellow in Spinal Biomechanics and Trauma which is recognized through the SUNY Buffalo Jacobs School of Medicine.
If we determine that chiropractic is not the best solution for your needs, I will recommend the type of specialist who is most appropriate for you. I may also recommend other specialists that can be used in conjunction with chiropractic care to help you meet your needs.
We understand that you need to explore all your options when you are trying to treat your pain. At Precision Spinal Care, we are happy to help you determine the best way to address your specific needs and discuss all the options with you and your family.
