Trouble maintaining your balance, walking straight, or feeling unsafe on your feet.
Common complaints include:
– Difficulty walking or climbing stairs
– Running pain or performance issues
– Trouble standing when you close your eyes
– Difficulty squatting or kneeling without fear of falling over
– Reluctance to bend over to pick things up
– New or increased reliance on walker or cane
– Trouble keeping up with family or friends
– General stiffness or loss of motion
– Difficulty in/out of a car or bathtub
– Weakness or control issues
– Difficulty walking in a straight line
– Difficulty dressing or stepping over objects
Balance is a skill, and like any other skill at can be trained to improve or it can be lost if neglected.
Common causes of balance issues include:
– Reduced leg strength
– Reduced general endurance
– Joint pain or problems
– Inner ear issues (such as BPPV)
– Neurological issues (Parkinson’s, stroke, MS, MD, etc)
– Peripheral neuropathy
– Issues related to the back or legs
– Foot and ankle immobility
– Sedentary lifestyle
– And many more…
Physical therapy can help with all of these things and more. With the proper intervention, nearly anyone can expect to see at least partial improvement.
Most patients are pleasantly surprised to find just how much pain free function they can regain with conservative treatment, even returning to sports and heavy labor. Physical therapy may help you avoid surgery, injections, additional medications, and other more invasive procedures. Even if more invasive procedures eventually become necessary, physical therapy prior to those interventions often improves the outcome.
Physical therapy treatment may include:
- Pain management and encouragement of tissue healing with use of:
- Specific stretching and range of motion activity
- Specific muscle strengthening activity
- Soft tissue mobilization
- Scar tissue management
- Joint mobilization
- Other general manual therapies
- Techniques such as cupping, taping, and stimulation
- Postural and body mechanics training
- Sport and job specific conditioning
- And many more techniques…
Therapists are trained unlike any other profession with knowledge and skills to specifically identify damaged or malfunctioning structures, how to help them heal naturally where able, and how to help the body accommodate and adapt where necessary.
Interesting balance facts:
– Leg strength (and by extension balance and gait) is the number 1 indicator of how soon someone may end up needing advanced care (assisted living, nursing home). Leg strength out ranks heart disease, cancer, arthritis, and anything else you can think of!
– Balance is a multi-system skill that involves not just brain and nerves, but joint and muscle mobility, strength, cardiovascular endurance, and even psychological aspects.
Reminder:
The longer you wait, the more complex a problem can become. Call us or book your appointment online today! The sooner the better. Remember, you do not need a referral from any other doctors and your insurance will still be accepted the same as at any other medical appointment. Don’t delay, see us about naturally encouraging your body to heal itself without drugs, injections, or surgeries you may not need.