Understanding Balance: Your “3 Systems” Necessary for Living Life Well
Hey Team! Last week we discussed the “Slippery Slope” of a fall. We used “Mary” as an example of how a minor injury fall can lead to long- term ramifications concerning physical/ emotional/ psychological or social changes. Ultimately, we painted a picture of how balance is essential to our life in these critical areas.
With low mobility or fear of movement, individuals will become withdrawn and lead to a depressive state. Last week was more of a doom and gloom article, but this week we start to brighten things up.
This week we will springboard off the impact of losing balance into how our body processes balance. In short, how does it work? We will examine the “3 Systems” of balance and how a change in each of these will impact your mobility. By understanding how your balance systems works, you are better positioned to improve. Let’s simplify these a bit.
OUR “3 BALANCE SYSTEMS”
Balance is the coordination of systems the brain synthesizes to assist in determining the current position. The brain can use these sensory inputs to evaluate current standing posture, head position, acceleration, or direction change. Overall, the brain controls your ability to maintain balance in three ways:
1. Sense your current level of stability.
2. Synthesize information from multiple inputs.
3. Make adjustments and respond to the input received.
What are the primary sensory systems contributing to balance?
Balance System # 1: Vision. Have you ever felt unsteady in a dark room or when walking to your car in a dark parking lot? If so, the reason you feel that way is your vision is an integral part of your balance. When your eyes are open, your vision is continually sending information to your brain related to where you are in relation to your environment. Your brain processes this visual input very rapidly, which helps you make necessary changes to your balance.
Balance System # 2: Sensation. Your second balance system involves a few types of sensation. The most basic kind of sensation is through the skin along the bottoms of your feet. As you shift your weight, your skin can feel the pressure shifting, which tells your brain your bodyweight position concerning your “base of support.” If your weight shifts too close to the edge of your feet, where you might go past the base of support and fall, your body can then respond by shifting the weight back towards the center. Your body also has different receptors in your joints and muscles, which we call “proprioceptors.” These receptors give your brain more information about your overall body position in space.
Balance System # 3: Inner Ear. Your third balance system is your “vestibular system.” Have you ever been told that you have fluid in your ears? This fluid moves through circular canals in your inner ear, giving your brain information about the speed and direction of various head movements.
TAKE HOME MESSAGE Overall, your brain is continuously working to interpret information from multiple systems to determine what adjustments are required to maintain stability. If one of your three balance systems are compromised, instability can occur. More so, if multiple systems are compromised, your risk of falling is significantly increased. I present a simplified version of how balance works and the beginning of a rough understanding of improving balance. These 3 systems may need to be enhanced to allow yourself to reduce the risk of falling or improve coordination for daily chores/ athletics. Next week we will review how to test if you are at risk for falling and if you need to improve your balance.