By Eoin Roe
Have you ever wondered what keeps us up right on just two feet? It is a pretty amazing system and it involves input from vision, proprioception (the subconscious ability to sense our own movements) in our feet, our joints, and most importantly the vestibular system.
Vision allows us to have an understanding of where we are and what position we are in, proprioception allows us to feel the ground – how level and solid it is – and lastly the vestibular system. The vestibular system has ten sensory organs, five in each ear. The five are three semi-circular canals (anterior, horizontal and posterior), the utricle and the saccule. The semi-circular canals are involved in sensing our head movements and have a close relationship with eye movements. The utricle and saccule, which gives us a sense of position in relationship to gravity, you can feel this when you go up in an elevator or accelerate or stop in a car. The neurology in these systems is very complex and becomes more so when you consider how they all integrate together. nearly always find that there is a breakdown in the ability for the vestibular system to sense where you are, which causes problems with balance.
How do you tell if you have good balance? The first thing to do is to stand with your feet close together but not touching, your hands by your side. You should be able to stand perfectly steady. If you can’t, try taking your shoes off – if this makes your balance better, then switching to a firmer soled shoe may help you. The next stage would be to stand in the same position with your shoes off and close your eyes – do you feel completely steady? You should be able to stand perfectly still. If not, it would be a good time to get some help improving your balance.
In clinic, I will add a further level of complexity to assess dysfunction of the vestibular system by having you stand on a foam mat, which allows me to see problems early on, so I can help you take the appropriate action.
The first stage to restoring balance is to help rebalance the vestibular system, especially the semi-circular canals in relation to utricle and saccule, and it is possible to do this by using specific movements in relation to gravity or motion (GRM – Gravity Reset Method).
Additionally, there are some further therapeutic measures that we can use such as eye exercises and sound at certain frequencies to improve balance. These can often have an immediate effect in improving balance but this needs to be reinforced with simple exercises done at home. These are not strenuous and do not require a huge amount of time, but done little and often, they can help to make long lasting changes for the better.
Eoin Roe is a Chiropractor and Functional Neurology specialist working in Skibbereen. If you would like to get in touch, you can use the contact form at www.roehealth.ie or call and leave a message at 028 62081.
If you would like to learn more about the Gravity Reset Method go to neurdsolutions.com.
