Among the woes of aging, keeping your balance is up near the top of the list. It figures. Two senses playing a part in this activity are seeing and hearing - the eyes and the ears, and both are getting a little weary as life goes on.
But, Wobblers of the World, Rejoice! There is help at hand in the form of physical therapy. Christie Hudson of the Comprehensive Outpatient Rehabilitation Center of Exeter Hospital has supplied the following statistics.
'Dizziness and imbalance are syptoms experienced by 40% of aduts age 40 and older, and is the leading cause for physician visits by patients age 65 and older....About 20% of all dizziness is due to Benign Paroxysmal Positional Vertigo (BPPV). About 50% of all dizziness in the elderly is due to BPPV.'
There are simple excercises that will strengthen the ties between the two senses, but if you have the slightest clue this may be a problem for you, please consult your primary physician (my husband refers to him/her as The Director.')
If your physician feels you can be helped by a physical therapist specializing in eye/inner ear problems, and then writes a prescription for treatment, it likely will be covered by Medicare. (That's pre-Health bill - don't know about after, and I'm not editorializing on that one.)
Excerpts from the vestibular.org newsletter: (full link below)
'Why is VRT needed?
If the brain cannot rely on the information it receives from the vestibular system, a person's ability to maintain posture and coordinate balance can become overly dependent on vision or on the information received from the muscles and joints (proprioception).
This can lead to developing new patterns of movement to compensate for the change and to avoid head movements that are apt to create symptoms of dizziness and nausea. For example, a person might adopt an exaggerated hip sway as a method of balancing, swivel the entire body rather than just the head when turning to look at something, or always look down at the floor to avoid what appears as a confusing swirl of activity.
Unfortunately, these types of adaptation can result in headache, neckache, muscle stiffness, general fatigue, and a decrease in the ability to retrain the brain to adjust to the vestibular problem, hence making the symptoms much worse.'
....
'How does VRT help?
In most cases, balance improves if the exercises are correctly and faithfully performed. Muscle tension, headaches, and fatigue will diminish, and symptoms of dizziness, vertigo, and nausea will decrease or disappear. Many times,VRT is so successful that no other treatment is required.'
If one reader averts a fall by reading this information, it will surely be a Happy New Year!
To read more, visit the Vestibular Disorders Association newsletter:
If you have any questions or would like more information, please contact Christie Hudson PT at Comprhensive Outpatient Rehab at 603-580-7068.
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