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 problems affect at least nine percent of adults, aged 65 and older. Good balance is extremely important, of course, in helping seniors in staying independent and to avoid falling down and encounter injuries that are frequently extremely serious or even fatal. But, would you be surprised to hear that falls are the cause of a large number of work injuries for adults younger than 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 any other place where a ladder is required are far more vulnerable to serious injury if their balance isn’t good.
The essential 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 teetering, and to climb stairs without slipping. To sum it up, then, good balance is crucial to our health and well-being.
What you may not know could have a balance problem without being aware of how significant it may be. Often times someone can “shake off” a dizzy sensation and it may not reoccur for a while. However when precipetous dizziness happens at a consequential moment, it is too late to shake it off and a fall is often certain.
Vertigo is the medical name for the feeling that you, or objects around you, are spinning. Close to forty percent of individuals in the U.S. will have at least one experience of dizziness that is distressing enough to seek out a health professional, such as your Chiropractor in Cincinnati. That said, if you work at any of the jobs listed above, it is an extremely good idea for you to see a chiropractor to have your balance checked prior to a sudden episode of dizziness, rather than as a response to such an episode. Why? Because as a chiropractor, I can not only check your balance, and make adjustments if necessary, but can help you to maintain good balance in the future. And, it may go without saying that having good balance will likely save you from serious injury or worse.
Balance disorders at any age are serious. It is crucial for you to be examined and treated without delay if you think that you may have a possible balance disorder. To help to make your decision easier 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 it’s too late! If you’re in the area, give your Cincinnati Chiropractor a call today. I can help!
