Recently, the NY Times ran a 2-part series in the
Health/Science section on Preserving
Balance and Dealing
with Dizziness. These articles have spurred an outpouring of questions to
H&D - one of the only physical therapy practices in the NY Metropolitan
area that has a specially trained physical therapist whose specialty is balance
training and helping clients suffering from dizziness.
We've asked H&D's
An Overview
The three main systems your body uses to maintain proper
balance are:
1) Sensory system
2) Visual system
3) Vestibular
system
1) Sensory System:
Your sensory system detects motion of your arms, legs, and
trunk and provides you with a sense of where your limbs are in space. This
helps you maintain your balance by sensing the position of your body or when
your body has moved. Example: If you lean forward or begin to fall forward, you
would feel more pressure on the balls of your feet than on your heels.
2) Visual System:
Your visual system assists you in maintaining your balance
by allowing you to see where you are in relation to stationary objects in the
environment. Using the same example from above, if you lean forward or fall
forward, you would see everything in front of you coming towards you and
everything to the side going by you.
Both the sensory system and the visual system rely upon
external information.
3) Vestibular System:
Your vestibular system in its most basic function, detects
movement of your head. It is the only internal system your body can use for
balance. Again using the above example of falling forward, your vestibular
system would detect the movement of your head falling forward. You use this
system for your balance the most when:
1) There is conflict between the other 2 systems.
2) There is
diminished or inaccurate use of our vision and/or sensation from your lower
body sensation.
