About Balance | Causes and Prevention | Symptoms and Diagnosis | Treatment and Research | FAQs
Having good balance means being able to control and maintain your body's position, whether you are moving or remaining still. An intact sense of balance helps you
- walk without staggering
- get up from a chair without falling
- climb stairs without tripping
Good balance is important to help you get around, stay independent, and carry out daily activities.
Many people experience problems with their sense of balance as they get older. Disturbances of the inner ear are the main cause. People feel unsteady, or as if they were moving, spinning, or floating. Vertigo, the feeling that you or the things around you are spinning, is also a common symptom. Experts believe that more than 40 percent of Americans will experience dizziness that is serious enough to go to a doctor.
Balance disorders are one reason older people fall. Falls and fall-related injuries, such as hip fracture, can have a serious impact on an older person's life. If you fall, it could limit your activities or make it impossible to live independently. Many people often become more isolated after a fall.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, more than one-third of adults ages 65 years and older fall each year. Among older adults, falls are the leading cause of injury deaths.
There are many types of balance disorders. One of the most common is benign paroxysmal positional vertigo, or BPPV. With BPPV, you experience a brief, intense feeling of vertigo that occurs when you change the position of your head. You may also experience BPPV when rolling over to the left or right, upon getting out of bed in the morning, or when looking up for an object on a high shelf. BPPV is more likely to occur in adults ages 60 and older, but can also occur in younger people. In BPPV, small calcium stones in the inner ear become displaced, causing a person to feel dizzy. The cause of BPPV is not known, although it may be caused by an inner ear infection, head injury, or aging.
