How Do We Control Our Balance and Avoid Falling?

Insights from a Physical Therapist at Rehab Advantage & Sports Medicine

As a physical therapist, one of the most common questions I hear from my patients is: How can I control my balance and avoid falling? This is an important question because falls can lead to serious injuries, especially as we age. Fortunately, there are strategies and exercises to improve balance and reduce your risk of falling. Let’s dive into how our body controls balance and what you can do to stay steady on your feet.

The Science of Balance

Balance is a complex process that relies on three main systems in your body:

1. The Visual System

Your eyes send signals to your brain about your surroundings, helping you gauge where you are in space. This is why poor vision can increase your risk of falls.

2. The Vestibular System

This system, located in your inner ear, detects head movements and helps you maintain your orientation. If you’ve ever felt dizzy or unsteady, your vestibular system might be involved.

3. Proprioception (Body Awareness)

Proprioception refers to your body’s ability to sense its position and movements. For example, your feet tell your brain about the surface you’re standing on, whether it’s smooth, uneven, or slippery.

All three systems work together with your muscles and joints to keep you balanced. When one system isn’t working well, the others must compensate, which can be challenging as we age or if we have certain health conditions.

Tips to Improve Your Balance and Prevent Falls

1. Strengthen Your Core and Lower Body

Your core muscles, hips, and legs play a crucial role in stability. Exercises like squats, lunges, and planks can help build strength.

2. Practice Balance Exercises

Incorporate activities like standing on one leg, walking heel-to-toe, or using a balance board. Start with support if needed and gradually progress as you gain confidence.

3. Stay Active

Regular physical activity improves muscle strength, coordination, and overall balance. Walking, yoga, and tai chi are excellent choices.

4. Address Vision and Hearing Issues

Get regular checkups for your eyes and ears. Corrective lenses or hearing aids, when needed, can make a significant difference.

5. Create a Safe Home Environment

Reduce fall risks by removing clutter, installing grab bars in bathrooms, using non-slip mats, and ensuring good lighting.

6. Get a Professional Assessment

When to Seek Help

If you feel unsteady, have frequent falls, or experience dizziness, don’t ignore it. These can be signs of underlying issues that a physical therapist can address. Our team specializes in vestibular rehabilitation and balance training, helping you regain confidence and mobility.

Take the First Step Towards Better Balance

Improving your balance is a journey, but with consistent effort and guidance, it’s possible to significantly reduce your risk of falling. If you have questions or want to learn more about our balance programs, reach out to us at Rehab Advantage & Sports Medicine. Together, we can help you stay active, independent, and fall-free.

How to Minimize Your Risk of Falling: A Physical Therapist’s Perspective

Falling is a common concern, especially as we age. In fact, falls are one of the leading causes of injury among older adults. But here’s the good news: many falls are preventable with the right strategies and proactive steps. As physical therapists, we specialize in helping individuals improve their balance, strength, and confidence to reduce their fall risk. Here’s how you can minimize your risk of falling and stay safe on your feet.

1. Strengthen Your Core and Lower Body

A strong core and leg muscles are essential for maintaining balance and stability. Weakness in these areas can make it difficult to recover from a misstep or sudden movement.

Try this:

• Sit-to-Stand Exercise: Practice standing up from a chair without using your hands. This improves leg strength and balance.
• Heel Raises: Stand tall and slowly rise onto your toes, then lower back down. This strengthens the calf muscles, which are key for balance.

2. Improve Your Balance

Balance is like any other skill—it can be trained and improved over time. Incorporating balance exercises into your routine can significantly lower your fall risk.

Try this:

• Single-Leg Stance: Hold onto a stable surface for support, then lift one foot off the ground and balance on the other. Gradually try to rely less on the support.
• Tandem Walk: Walk heel-to-toe in a straight line as if walking on a tightrope.

3. Make Your Home Safer

Many falls occur at home due to tripping hazards or poor lighting. Making simple modifications to your living space can create a safer environment.

Tips:

• Remove loose rugs or secure them with non-slip backing.
• Install grab bars in bathrooms and railings on staircases.
• Keep walkways clutter-free and well-lit.

4. Wear Proper Footwear

Your shoes play a significant role in your stability. Avoid high heels, slippers, or shoes with slippery soles.

Opt for:

• Shoes with non-slip soles and good arch support.
• Properly fitting footwear that doesn’t slide off your feet.

5. Stay Physically Active

Regular physical activity keeps your muscles, joints, and cardiovascular system in good shape, all of which are essential for balance and stability. Activities like walking, swimming, or yoga can help you stay strong and mobile.

6. Address Underlying Health Conditions

Certain medical conditions, such as vision problems, inner ear issues, or chronic pain, can increase your risk of falling. Regular check-ups with your doctor and physical therapist can help identify and address these challenges.

What to do:

• Schedule an eye exam to ensure your prescription is up to date.
• Speak with your doctor about any side effects of medications, especially dizziness.

7. Work with a Physical Therapist

As physical therapists, we assess your unique needs and develop a personalized fall prevention plan. This may include:

• Balance and Strength Training: Tailored exercises to improve stability and muscle strength.
• Gait Training: Helping you improve the way you walk for better balance and coordination.
• Home Safety Assessment: Recommendations to make your environment safer.

Take Control of Your Safety

Falling isn’t an inevitable part of aging—it’s a risk you can actively reduce. By staying proactive, building strength and balance, and creating a safe living environment, you can minimize your risk of falls and maintain your independence.

If you’re concerned about falling, our team at Rehab Advantage & Sports Medicine is here to help. Schedule a consultation today, and let’s create a plan to keep you safe and steady!

Have You Heard of Pre-Hab? There Are Several Different Ways it May Benefit You

It’s no secret that having physical therapy after an injury or surgery helps you recover faster. But what if there was a way to prevent an injury in the first place? Or what if there was a way to speed recovery from surgery long before you went under the knife? Pre-hab or preventative rehabilitation helps patients heal faster after surgery, speeds recovery and, in many cases, prevents injury in the first place. Call our office today in Dublin, GA for a consultation with our physical therapist. They can determine if pre-hab is right for you.

Recovering from surgery with pre-hab

When it comes to going under the knife, many people fear what will come after the stitches have been sewn. This is especially true for anyone who has a total joint replacement. Faced with the risk of time in a rehabilitation hospital, many people delay joint replacement surgery out of fear of a long, difficult recovery.

But doing physical therapy before surgery can reduce the odds of needing inpatient rehabilitation by 73 percent. Patients who are stronger before surgery also meet physical milestones sooner than those who do not. Within 24 hours of surgery, someone who has had a total knee replacement is expected to walk 500 to 1000 feet with the assistance of a walker.

Those who work with a physical therapist before surgery are more likely to meet this demand. These patients are stronger and have better blood flow. Physical therapy also teaches them many of the movements, stretches, pain relieving techniques, and strengthening exercises they will need in their recovery.

Preventing injuries with pre-hab

Pre-hab is one of the best ways to prevent injuries in patients at risk for developing significant movement problems. Those with physically demanding jobs may find that the exercises, stretches and pain relieving techniques taught at physical therapy help them perform in their jobs.

This is especially true in jobs where there are high incidences of certain injuries. This type of physical therapy typically targets areas where injury is most likely to happen. For instance, those in the military are more prone to develop foot, knee, hip, and back problems due to the rigors of training and combat.

Pre-hab can mitigate many of these injuries by teaching correct lifting techniques, proper posture and effective core strengthening exercises that keep service members strong and healthy. The same can be said for construction workers, firefighters, factory workers, or other employees in highly physical occupations.

Even pro and amateur athletes are finding that working with a physical therapist is paying off, long before an injury happens. Focusing on the areas that are stressed by everyday movement and poor habits, a physical therapist looks at your most injury-prone areas and helps you correct any problems before you get hurt.

Chances are you are hunched over your computer most of the day. Working with a physical therapist can help strengthen your core and correct your posture, keeping you strong and healthy.

Since an object in motion tends to stay in motion, physical therapy is also an ideal way to begin an exercise regimen. Focused on strength, mobility and balance, pre-hab can keep you injury free for life as you begin the process of getting in shape.

So, what exactly is pre-hab?

The term pre-hab is short for preventative rehabilitation. A physical therapist typically uses pre-hab in two ways.

First, they can teach targeted exercises and stretches to patients who are at risk for serious injuries. Second, pre-hab is a form of physical therapy used prior to surgery to speed healing and recovery.

Pre-surgical rehabilitation resides under the category of preventative care known as “pre-hab.” The purpose of pre-hab is to get the body as ready as possible for a challenging situation. If you choose to participate in this practice, you won’t be alone. A study done by the APTA shows that out of the 5,852 of patients who received rehab, 52% of them did rehab before their surgery.

During this process, the patient will work directly with the physical therapist to improve the strength, durability, movement, and overall functionality in the areas and areas around where the surgery will take place.

The process of pre-hab can vary based on which practice you go to, but for the most part, the goals remain the same. These include:

• Preparing you mentally for the surgery
• Teaching you about the surgery and the path to recovery
• Improving the overall health of your body to reduce the risk of complications during surgery

Contact us today to get started

If you are considering surgery or if you need to fine-tune your everyday life, physical therapy is the ideal place to start. Contact us now for a consultation.

Few problems can render a person’s ability to move and fulfill basic needs inept like chronic back pain. Back pain can often become more than you can manage on your own. It can create several challenges for families, friends, and health providers.

While many traditional treatment methods rely on the use of medications and even surgery, there are safer and healthier alternatives, such as physical therapy. Physical therapy may alleviate symptoms with significant benefits!

If you’re suffering from chronic, unexplained back pain, contact our physical therapy clinic today to learn more about your treatment options.

What is chronic back pain?

Chronic back pain refers to pain that lasts more than three months. It is a progressive pain that gradually worsens with time and basic daily activities. Oftentimes the cause of back pain may remain unknown — a person simply may not know what caused it or pinpoint a point of origin.

However, most people can recover from back pain by understanding its causes, especially those that do not derive from an incident, such as a car accident or work injury.

Causes of chronic back pain

Acute pain is typically an expected bodily response to a severe injury. However, the repeated use of joints after an inflammatory response may lead to the worsening of symptoms and disease progression, explains the NINDS. This is where the acute pain turns into a chronic condition.

Chronic back pain may arise from a sudden, traumatic injury or repetitive stress on the vertebrae. People suffering from chronic back pain may feel uncomfortable sensations such as a prick, burn, tingle, sting, or aches. In addition, those with poor posture, bulging or herniated discs, arthritis, skeletal irregularities, and osteoporosis may suffer from chronic back pain more often than their peers, says the Mayo Clinic.

Other factors can also contribute, such as age, weight, poor lifting form, and even mental health conditions. These all may increase a person’s risk for back pain, and it only takes one injury for a condition to persist into the realm of long-term problems.

How can physical therapy help relieve my pain?

Choosing physical therapy as a first-line treatment is quickly becoming the most popular and well-recommended means of managing chronic pain. According to Move Forward PT, government agencies, including the CDC, now recommend the use of non-invasive treatment methods for pain, such as therapy, prior to medication or surgical management of chronic pain, including chronic back pain.

This is because physical therapy has the power to determine and treat the underlying causes of pain while also improving joint health.

Physical therapy treatment manages chronic back pain with these key methods:

• Decreases a person’s inflammatory response. As joint health improves, inflammatory responses decrease. This results in pain reductions.Improves blood and oxygen flow to the affected area. Increased circulation to the affected area promotes healing and ensures the joint has plenty of nutrients to repair itself.
• Provides education to prevent your condition from getting worse or returning in the future. Physical therapy provides patients with education about the causes of back pain and how to keep it at bay. This includes instructions on how to maintain proper posture and avoid improper lifting techniques. Knowing these two things alone will reduce the risk of chronic back pain now and in the future.
• Provides exercises to improve passive and active range of motion. Both passive and active range of motion exercises prevent joints from becoming fixed, allowing a person to move more with less pain over time. Passive motion also helps those that are in too much pain to move a joint on their own.
• Increases muscle strength. As the therapist works to develop an exercise regimen that is safe and effective for the joint, muscle strength and endurance increases. This provides a protective effect.

Are you ready to stop living in pain 24/7?

Back pain is debilitating, and no one should suffer day in and day out without knowing where their next source of relief will come from. Instead of opting for costly and invasive treatments or accepting the health risks from opioids, those living with chronic back pain should consider physical therapy first.

Learn more about how you can achieve a pain-free life by scheduling a consultation with a physical therapist now. Our clinic will match you with a physical therapist who will walk you step by step through a customized treatment program created specifically for your condition. We’re here to help you kick your back pain, and feel great while you’re doing it. Contact us today!