Have you, or a loved one, fallen recently? Or noticed your balance getting more unsteady? A few things worth knowing: roughly 1 in 4 adults over 65 falls each year, 95% of hip fractures are caused by a sideways fall, 1 in 5 people who fracture a hip in a fall don’t survive the first year after the injury, and an older adult dies from a fall in the U.S. roughly every 19 seconds.
For most of our lives, balancing while walking, running, or bending over to pick something up is as automatic as breathing. You probably haven’t thought about it much, until you notice you feel unsteady getting dressed, stepping into the shower or car, or needing a handrail on the stairs. If that sounds familiar, you’ve probably wondered what’s causing it, and what you can actually do about it.
Just like a muscle can get weak, your balance systems can get “weak” too. And just like a muscle, they can be strengthened again with the right program.
What makes up your balance system?
Three systems determine whether you stay balanced when it’s challenged, like when the walking surface changes, when you’re balancing on one leg mid-step, or when you hear a loud noise and turn quickly.
- Somatosensory system. Your primary balance system, made up of nerve endings in your muscles and bones that tell your brain how your body is positioned and moving, so it can send the right signal back to the right muscles.
- Vestibular system. Includes the central nervous system and inner ear. If you’ve ever experienced vertigo, you’ve felt this system directly: it tells your brain where your head is in space and alerts it when your head moves quickly.
- Visual system. Tells your brain what to expect from your surroundings, alerting it to changes in your body’s position or environment so it can respond and keep you upright.
These three systems are always working, closely together. Even within just one of them, a lot of small pieces have to function correctly: something as small as lost sensation in part of your foot, or diminished eyesight, can throw off the whole system.
The good news: balance can be trained
A physical therapist can help identify which part of your balance system is compromised and build an individualized program to improve it, so you can avoid falls and get back to your daily activities with confidence. If bad balance, a past fall, a fear of falling, or watching a parent’s balance decline sounds familiar, it’s worth finding out exactly which of your three balance systems needs the work, and how to fix it.