“I didn’t realize my balance was this bad!”
The last few weeks we’ve seen a lot of people coming into the clinic with balance issues and being worried about falling. It’s a common problem that we see quite a lot of, but not a lot of people know that physical therapists can help with your balance. We like to have a bit of fun when we’re testing people’s balance, to make it an easier thing for them to be doing. We like to play ‘one-legged darts’ and do the ‘can you walk in a straight line?’ test, to find out just how steady (or how wobbly) people are on their feet. After we’ve done these little tests, everyone always says: “I didn’t realize my balance was that bad!” And it’s true! Most of us rarely realize we have a problem with our balance until it’s pointed out and made obvious to us. Even though not all of us have superhuman balance like gymnasts and ice skaters, we need a certain level of balance to help us go about our daily activities without falling over and hurting ourselves. So I wanted to share the most common signs and symptoms to lookout for, when it comes to wobbly balance and an increased risk of fall. One of the most common ones is ‘dizziness’. Everyone has a dizzy spell now and then, but the word ‘dizziness’ may mean something different to different people. For some people dizziness might be a fleeting sensation of spinning. While for others it feels intense… Read More