Leading a Well-Balanced Life

By Dr. Steven Warfield

When most of us talk about leading a well-balanced life we are usually referring to a healthy division of work and play.  It’s a remix of the old saw, “All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy.”  However, when a chiropractor talks about leading a well-balanced life, he or she is usually being literal in that a person’s sense of balance or lack thereof is vital to their overall health. 

While a sense of balance is something that most of us take for granted, what many people do not realize  is that the body’s ability to balance itself is part hard-wired and part learned.  Watch any infant take their first steps or observe a toddler trying to make its way across the room and you will get some idea of the fact that while all the mechanical elements are in place, the art of bipedal locomotion isn’t something that works right off the bat.  (This in itself seems strange, since many quadrupeds can not only walk, but run within hours of being born.)

Loss of balance many times can also come to those in later years.  Even though they have spent seventy or eighty years walking upright, all of a sudden they find themselves stumbling for no apparent reason, or they begin bumping into things.  If left to their own devices, these balance anomalies can result in tragic falls that can sometimes break bones. What’s even more tragic is the fact that if this loss of balance is reported early then many times more serious consequences can be avoided down the road.

A Balancing Act

To gain an understanding of what causes loss of balance it is important that you understand the fact that balancing on two legs is a complicated process that has many components. 

Wikipedia states that, “Balance is the result of a number of body systems working together: the eyes (visual system), ears (vestibular system) and the body's sense of where it is in space (proprioception) ideally need to be intact. The vestibular system, the region of the inner ear where three semicircular canals converge, works with the visual system to keep objects in focus when the head is moving. This is called the vestibulo-ocular reflex (VOR). The balance system works with the visual and skeletal systems (the muscles and joints and their sensors) to maintain orientation or balance. Visual signals sent to the brain about the body's position in relation to its surroundings are processed by the brain and compared to information from the vestibular, visual and skeletal systems.”

If any one of these elements is impaired then it can affect the body’s ability to successfully navigate 

Vestibular System (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

from Point A to Point B.  Many times the symptoms that appear are subtle.  We’re not talking drunken 

sailors here.  Worse still is the fact that some of these symptoms are indicators of more serious health issues, while others are easily correctable.  While inner ear or vision abnormalities can be the root cause of loss of balance, the spine can also be to at the heart of balance issues. In the first place a healthy spine is the key to balance since all the mechanics of walking are carried via the spinal column.  Anything that interferes with nerve impulses can impede balance.  People with poor posture or low back pain don’t realize how the muscles, tendons, and ligaments control their ability to walk upright until they find themselves having trouble getting out of bed or they take a tumble after missing a step due to their spinal issues.  Any trauma to the lower back or spine can also severely hinder your sense of balance.

Toeing the Line

One of the simplest tests you can perform to see if your sense of balance is impaired is

US Navy 110520-N-ZK021-009 Master-at-Arms 2nd Class Jerry Cotter, left, from Belding, Mich., assigned to base security, performs a mock field sobri (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

 to make like a traffic cop carrying out a field sobriety test.  Find a straight line on your carpet or tile floor and walk it, noticing if you start to diverge from the straight and narrow.  Next, stand still and then extend one leg forward and hold this position for a few seconds.  Then extend one leg sideways.  When you do this are you able to easily compensate as far as balance is concerned, or do you almost immediately begin to lose your balance?   If the cop insde you would not let you get back into your car if you were so impaired, then it’s time you admit to yourself that you need to seek professional help before you wind up as a statistic.

In 2002, the National Safety Council cited falling as the leading cause of injury related deaths in older adults. In fact, one third of the people, age 65 years and older, have at least one fall a year. In the United States, there are 35 million older adults, that calculates to more than 10 million falls a year in this country alone. The leading cause of sensory loss in older adults is Peripheral Neuropathy. Called the "silent" epidemic, Peripheral Neuropathy comes on so slowly that many people don't even notice the changes that are happening. Then the symptoms take hold and before you know it, the person takes a fall. http://edmontonchiropractor.com/2011/loss-of-balance/

Symptoms of balance disorders can include:

1.      Vertigo

2.      Sweating

3.      Ringing in the Ears

4.      Nausea

5.      Difficulty Speaking

6.      Bumping into Objects

7.      Disorientation

How Do You Restore Balance?

Currently there is no pill that can cure balance disorders or vertigo.  The only way to correct the problem is to identify the underlying causes.  Chiropractic treatment can help identify and treat many factors that can cause a loss of balance.  Treatment begins with an examination that can detect anomalies and imbalances of the spine.  Even if the root cause of the imbalance does not have its basis in the spinal column, a chiropractor can help pinpoint the problem.  Your chiropractor can also bring a number of treatments to bear including spinal alignments, exercise, diets and supplements that are designed to get to the bottom of your problems and help you reestablish a well-balanced life.

Dr.’s Steven Warfield and Dave Edenfield offer the most advanced treatments for back pain, sciatica, neck pain, whiplash and headaches. They also treat auto accident victims with state-of-the-art technologies.  For more information visit http://endyourpain.org or http://chiropractic-jacksonville-fl.com