Your dizziness affects your balance, your balance affects your dizziness. We can help fix BOTH!

Why is my dizziness affecting my balance? 

Is your dizziness making you feel unstable and off balance? That pestering dizziness can come from a couple different origins and Imagine Physical therapy can help differentiate between the different types and treat all of them. Regardless of the origin, they all tend to give you the feeling that either you or the world around you is moving even when it's not.1,2 Impaired balance can affect all aspects of your life, even the simplest of tasks, which can be very burdensome and frustrating. If you don’t address your balance, your risk of falling increases significantly.  

How can I test my balance at home? 

You can test your balance at home in under 30 seconds. If you are doing these activities outside professional supervision, ensure that you are in a safe environment and have a sturdy surface near in case you lose your balance. Test 1: Hold on to a surface beside you and stand with one foot in front of the other. Slowly let go and hold your balance and try to hold this for 30 seconds. Test 2: Try standing on one foot and hold for 30 seconds. Again, make sure you are in a safe environment for both tests.3,4 Are you able to hold these positions for 30 seconds without losing your balance, removing your arms from your chest, or feeling dizziness? If not, your balance could be impaired. Keep practicing these exercises to improve your balance, and time how long you’re able to keep your balance each time to track your progress.  

How can Imagine Physical Therapy help my balance?  

There are more in-depth balance testing that we perform at Imagine Physical Therapy. We complete a full body examination and determine what exactly is causing your dizziness and treat it. We integrate the best evidence in science to get you better faster and stay better.  These tests give us insight as to what specific activities worsen your balance and/or provoke your dizziness. We take those same specific activities, modify them so that they are the perfect challenge for you, and practice them until they are no longer an issue. Just like with everything else, practice makes perfect!  

Strengthening hip muscles to improve balance 

Strengthening of the muscles surrounding your hip is effective to improve your balance. One muscle called the Gluteus Medius, which is on the side of your hip, is responsible for holding your hips upright, especially when standing on one leg.5 Research shows that making this muscle stronger can greatly improve your balance, and we have the perfect exercises to make this muscle strong and effective. No dizziness leads to better balance, and better balance minimizes dizziness, overall, both dizziness and balance get better. Come see us today to gain more confidence in your balance!  

References:  

1. Vidal P, Huijbregts P. Dizziness in orthopaedic physical therapy practice: history and physical examination. J Man Manip Ther. 2005;13(4):221-250 

1. Yu Q, Guan B, Yu J, Lu Y, Chen C, Yu S. Reliability, internal consistency, and concurrent validity of a modified version of the dynamic gait index in people with vestibular disorders. Gait & Posture. 2020;81:268. 

1. Hile ES, Brach JS, Perera S, Wert DM, VanSwearingen JM, Studenski SA. Interpreting the need for initial support to perform tandem stance tests of balance. Physical Therapy. 2012;92(10):1316-1328. doi:10.2522/ptj.20110283 

1.  Chang CJ, Chang YS, Yang SW. Using single leg standing time to predict the fall risk in elderly. Annu Int Conf IEEE Eng Med Biol Soc. 2013;2013:7456-7458. doi:10.1109/EMBC.2013.6611282 

1. Reiman MP, Bolgla LA, Loudon JK. A literature review of studies evaluating gluteus maximus and gluteus medius activation during rehabilitation exercises. Physiotherapy Theory and Practice. 2011;28(4):257-268. doi:10.3109/09593985.2011.604981