Balance Training

What does it mean when you keep losing your balance?

For most of our lives, we take balance for granted. As we grow older, we find that we must work harder to stay balanced and keep upright sometimes. The main symptoms of balance problems include feeling of lightheadedness (Syncope), sense of spinning (vertigo), dizziness or floating sensation, confusion, loss of balance, blurry vision and confusion.

Causes of these signs are typically related to the specific symptom and can include things like vestibule or inner ear problems, head injury, persistent postural-perceptual dizziness, medications, migraine, and cardiovascular disease among others.

Here are some signs to look for in your daily life. If you find four or more of these statements below to be true for you, you are at a greater risk for falling, statistically speaking:

• I often touch furniture and walls when I’m walking through the house.
• I feel unsteady while showering or washing my hair, especially when I close my eyes.
• I avoid walking on irregular surfaces like ramps, sand or grass.
• I feel nervous in crowds due to my balance such as getting on an escalator or walking through store aisles.
• I feel imbalanced when going to the bathroom at night.
• I have some anxiety when negotiating stairs or curbs.
• I feel unsteady after I move my head while I’m standing.
• I try not to move my head when I’m walking or standing.
• I feel the need to look down most of the time to keep my balance.
• I get very tense when I’m walking for in a standing position.
• I feel embarrassed sometimes and worry that I look drunk.
• I feel that I’m walking slower than my normal speed.