Balance Exercise Physical Therapy

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Balance Exercise Physical Therapy

When thinking about physical therapy exercises, almost everyone thinks of strengthening exercises & stretching general exercises that many people do in the gym. But what about balance? Did you know, your physical therapist can help improve your balance with specific training?

If you have fallen, you understand how important it is to maintain balance when you are walking or sitting. Your physical therapist is a movement expert who can help you improve balance so you can maintain safe functional mobility.

So, who can benefit from balance training at the PT clinic? People who might be involved in balance training include:

- Older people with limited functional mobility

- People who have fallen

- People with neurological conditions, such as strokes, which can cause balance disorders

- injured athlete

- People who have surgery

- People with vertigo

When you first meet your physical therapist, he can assess your balance. If it is determined that your balance is interrupted, a treatment strategy can be developed that includes exercises to help improve your balance to maximize your safe functional mobility.

Where does the balance come from?

The three systems in your body work together to help you stay upright with a good balance. This includes:

- Your visual system

- Your vestibular system in your inner ear

- Your proprioceptive system in your muscles and joints

First, your visual system functions to inform your brain about where your body is related to your environment. People with visual impairments may experience balance difficulties due to their inability to see where they are. When assessing your balance, your physical therapist may ask about your vision or mission & if you wear a corrective lens. Making changes to your vision or corrective lens is outside the scope of practice for a physical therapist, but your PT may recommend that you visit an ophthalmologist to ensure that your eyes are working normally.

Your vestibular system is located in your inner ear, which serves to inform your brain about the position of your head. The vestibular structure (you have one on each side in your head) acts like a small level. They are full of fluid & when you move and rotate your head, fluid flows to one side of the vestibular structure and activates the nerves there. This nerve then communicates with your brain, saying the position of your head. Damage or interference with your vestibular system can cause vertigo, or a spinning sensation, when you will move your head.

Your proprioceptive system is a special group of nerve endings in your muscles, tendons & joints. These nerves communicate with your brain, telling you when and how muscles contract, and information about the senses of position. Injuries, surgeries, or neurological conditions can interfere with your proprioception, which causes the balance to decrease.

Your physical therapist can assess these three systems and determine the factors that can cause balance disorders. Then, he can prescribe special exercises to help improve your balance.

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How You Can Increase Balance

Your body can change or grow in response to certain balance exercises, and this can also lead to better balance and safe functional mobility.

4 simple balance exercises that your PT might provide include the following: Be sure to check with your doctor before starting this, or any other exercise, for your balance:

- Single foot position: Find something stable to hold, then lift one foot from the floor. Hold this position for about 30 seconds, then repeat with the other leg. You can increase the challenge by removing the stable object that you hold or by closing your eyes while standing on one leg.

- Tandem walk with heel-to-foot pattern: Stand up straight, walk forward and place one heel directly in front of the toes on the opposite leg. Walk forward for 10 steps. You can make this more challenging by walking backwards in a foot-to-heel pattern. Make sure something stable, like your kitchen table, is close to security.

- Walk while moving various head movements: Walk forward for approximately 10 steps while turning your head left and right, tracing the room while walking. Then, walk forward while nodding your head up and down. The changing visual field will challenge your balance and balance system.

- Change the visual system as you move to challenge your balance: Print dam designs or other designs that can make visual images altered. Glue this design to the wall, and walk forward while looking directly at the design. Then, walking backwards, stay focused on the design. This changing visual field can challenge your overall balance and balance.

The First Step to Increase Balance with Physical Therapy

If you fall or you feel like your balance is disturbed, you should check in with your doctor to check. Ask your doctor to refer you to a physical therapist who can evaluate complete balance. PT You can check various things and start on the track to increase your balance. You can also visit your physical therapist through direct access; no doctor's referral is needed, so if you feel you want to learn some new balance exercises, contact your physical therapist and explain your needs.

A word from very good

Most people don't even realize their balance is disturbed. Some weekend athletes & fighters have repetitive strain or excessive injury, and one variable that might cause injury is disturbed balance and proprioception. If you experience limited pain and motion, your physical therapist can assess your balance as part of a comprehensive evaluation and prescribe balance training as part of your rehabilitation.

Working to improve your balance can be an important component of your overall physical therapy training program. This can help increase mobility in yourself, and this can provide an important boost to your confidence when walking so you can minimize the risk of falling and enjoy your normal daily activities.

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As an example:

At the basic level, participants will walk on uneven surfaces (dynamic balance & sensory orientation), at a moderate level they walk in paths with reduced step widths (stability, dynamic balance, and sensory orientation), and at an advanced level Multiple cognitive tasks are added (limits of stability, dynamic balance, sensory orientation, dual activity and multi-task and postural response).

Base level: You will sit on the ball with a large support base.

Moderate level: Sit on a ball & add a motorbike, such as juggling a balloon (double duty), with a reduced support base or an uneven surface under the feet.

Advanced level: Sit on the ball on the basis of reduced support & also add motorbike tasks or multiple cognitive assignments, or combine motor tasks and cognitive tasks (buttoning and counting / closed head / eye movements). Sit on the ball with a reduced support base and juggling the balloon, and add an uneven surface under the feet.

Base level: Walk on the ground even when doing motorbike tasks or cognitive assignments.

Moderate level: Walk with reduced step width when performing motor tasks or cognitive tasks, or walk and combine motor tasks and cognitive tasks (carrying trays while talking), or doing two motor tasks (carrying trays while doing head movements).

Advanced level: Walks with reduced step widths and combines motoric and cognitive assignments or performs two motor tasks.

Although balance training is carried out in groups, the exercises are adjusted individually for each participant with the aim of constantly challenging the balance control system. These examples show how the exercises can be individually adjusted and challenging for each individual:

Using a different position of arms and legs: The arms hang on the side or cross over the chest or put on the lap when sitting. For changes in the supporting area, the legs can be placed apart, close to each other, close together, in a semi-tandem or tandem position, or on a balance disk cushion.

Do exercises at different speeds, such as walking, head movements, or movements of the arms and legs.

Vary the distance between pillows or vary the number of pillows when walking on a balance disk cushion.

Add motoric tasks or cognitive tasks. Adjust the difficulty level of additional tasks.

Varying the density and size of uneven surfaces.

Additional material Figure 8 illustrates the ways that an exercise can be adjusted individually.