As a Cincinnati Chiropractor I treat many seniors who are affected by balance problems. In fact, dizziness, “wooziness,” and other balance-related conditions affect at least 9% of adults, aged 65 and older. Good balance is crucial, of course, in helping older adults in staying independent and to avoid falling down and incurring injuries that are commonly extremely serious or even fatal. But, did you know that falls contribute to a large number of work injuries for workers under 65 years of age, including those in their twenties and thirties? That’s right! Balance challenges can occur at any age. In fact, those who work at “dangerous heights” like construction workers, roofers, oil platform employees, windows cleaners, or anywhere else where a ladder is necessary are far more likely to sustain serious injury if their balance isn’t good.
The most important capacity of good balance is to help us to manage and maintain our body position, whether we are standing still or moving, and whether we are on the ground or high up on a platform. Good balance helps us to walk without staggering, arise from a sitting position without tottering, and to climb stairs without missing a step. In other words, good balance is extremely important to our health and well-being.
What come as a surprise to you is that you could have a balance abnormality without being aware of how threatening it is. On occasion an individual can “shake off” a dizzy sensation and it may not return for a while. But, when precipetous dizziness happens at a critical moment, it is too late to shake it off and a fall is most likely inevitable.
When you have the sensation that you, personally, are spinning or that things around you are moving, it is known as “vertigo.” Nearly 40% of people in the U.S. will have at least one experience of dizziness that is acute enough to seek out a health professional, like your Chiropractor at Cincinnati Chiropractic. However, if you are involved in any of the activities listed above, having a chiropractor check your balance prior to a distinct episode of vertigo, make adjustments if needed, and then help you to maintain good balance, may save you from serious injury or worse.
Balance disorders are dangerous at any age. It is crucial for you to be diagnosed and treated without delay if you feel as if you may have a possible balance disorder. Often guidelines are helpful. Therefore, if you can answer “yes” to any of the following questions, even if the experience is seldom or infrequent, it is highly recommended that you discuss the symptom(s) with a chiropractor as soon as possible:
• Have you experienced a feeling of being “unsteady?”
• Has the room seemed to spin around you?
• Has there ever a time when you felt as if you were moving when you knew you were standing still?
• Have you lost your balance and/or fallen down?
• Have you ever felt as if you were falling?
• Has your vision ever become “blurred?”
• Have you ever felt disoriented, or lost a sense of time, place or identity?
As discussed above, balance problems are not confined to a particular age group. From the time we learn to walk until we take our final step, our falling down is an ever-present possibility. If you work in a job that makes your falling down a “critical” event, you need to have your balance checked. Don’t wait until you sustain a work injury! Call a Chiropractor today, and if you’re in the Cincinnati area, I’d love to be your Cincinnati Chiropractor!