Cincinnati Chiropractor

At my Cincinnati Chiropractic Clinic I treat a lot of seniors who are affected by balance problems. In fact, dizziness, “wooziness,” and other balance-related challenges affect at least nine percent of adults, aged 65 and over. Good balance is essential, of course, in aiding older adults in remaining independent and to avoid falling down and sustaining injuries that are commonly extremely serious or even fatal. But, I wonder if you are aware that falls produce a large percentage of work injuries for workers younger than 65 years of age, including individuals in their twenties and thirties? That’s right! No one is “invulnerable” to balance problems, no matter how young they may be. It is for this reason that those who work in”precarious locations” like construction workers, roofers, oil platform employees, windows cleaners, or any other place where a ladder is required are far more vulnerable to serious injury if their balance isn’t good.

The chief 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 stumbling, arise from a sitting position without tottering, and to climb stairs without slipping. In other words, good balance is extremely important to our health and well-being.

What may be disconcerting to you is that you could have a balance dysfunction without being aware of how serious it may be. Often times an individual may be able to “shake off” a dizzy sensation and the sensation may not return for a while. The danger is that when unexpected dizziness occurs at a consequential moment, it is too late to shake it off and a fall is usually unpreventable.

Vertigo is the medical term for the sensation that you, or objects around you, are spinning. Nearly 40% of individuals in the U.S. will have at least one incidence of dizziness that is acute enough to seek out help from a health professional, like your Chiropractor at Cincinnati Chiropractic. But, 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 aid you in maintaining good balance, may save you from serious injury or worse.

Balance disorders at any age are serious. It is extremely important for you to be examined and treated quickly if you think that 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?

It is important for you to remember that balance problems are not specific to a particular age group. Our falling down is an ever-present possibility from the time we learn to walk until we take our final step 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! If you’re in the area, give your Cincinnati Chiropractor a call today. I can help!

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