The sense of balance is also called equilibrioception and is responsible for perceiving balance and spatial orientation. Equilibrioception prevents humans and other animals from falling over when standing or walking. It requires several sensory organs to work together.
Balance is the vital sense that gives you stability; good balance is generally associated with good, stable body posture. The essential of body balance is shown by the vast number of connections it makes with the brain.
These connections reveal that the force of movement we create and encounter in the environment can affect many parts of the brain, including those controlling vision, hearing, sleep, memory, and digestion.
Balance is the body's power to maintain its center of gravity while standing upright or walking. The pattern of limb movement of the person while walking is called Gait. Both Gait and Balance rely on the complex interplay between the brain.
The nervous system, sensory organs, and musculoskeletal systems. An issue in any of the areas can affect your Gait and balance and may also increase the chance of falling.
The body’s balance system works by position detection, feedback, and adjustments using muscles, joints, eyes, brain, and inner ear for communication. Proper communication and coordination between what we sense (sensory input) and our actions (motor output) balance the human body adequately.
At the back of the brain, there is the cerebellum which meets the spine. The cerebellum acts as the body’s control center. It receives messages about the body’s positioning from the inner ear, eyes, muscles, and joints. It then sends the information to the muscles to adjust the posture or position accordingly. The data gets carried through the vestibular system.
Sensory receptors in the retina are called rods and cones. Cones help with seeing colors, while rods are better suited when the lights are dim at night. They send impulses to the brain, which provide visuals of the surroundings. Then the vestibular system sends motor control signals via the nervous system to the eyes in an automatic function called the vestibule-ocular reflex.
When your head is steady, the impulses from vestibular organs to the left and right sides of the ear are the same. When you move to either side, the number of impulses increases and decreases on the other side. The number of impulses to the ears also controls the movement of the eyes.
The sensory receptors that carry information from the skin, muscles, and joints respond to stretching or pressuring the surrounding tissues. These senses help our brain to determine where in space our body is.
Signals from the neck muscles determine where our head is turned. Signals from the ankles indicate if we are standing or where our body is heading towards.
The vestibular system is a part of the nervous system responsible for providing us with the spatial positioning of our head, body, and motion. There are two sets of organs in the inner ear; the semi-circular canal, which responds to rotational movements, and the utricle and saccule within the vestibule. These organs respond to changes in the position of the head in response to gravity.
Imagine suddenly losing a sense of vision or hearing. Sounds terrifying, right? Similarly, the sudden loss of balance would make us feel dizzy. You may feel dizzy and frightened at the beginning stage. You may not be able to perform the daily tasks well. Later, with time you will be able to rely on other senses, such as vision and hearing.
Balance Problem can cause due to various reasons example includes
Signs and symptoms of Balance Problems are:
Whenever you feel such symptoms, just have a pre-deciding factor and take care. If at all it doesnt cure, consult your doctor.
Whatever you are facing in life, there is a solution. You have to follow the given instructions and follow thoroughly. This will help you get off the problem.
Simply walking more often can benefit you by strengthening your lower body. The legs and spine are the foundation for a good posture. Having a good posture improves balance.
You can do this exercise from your home or outdoors. It is an effective way to improve your balance.
You can do this exercise anywhere you can. Simple stand on one leg while your other is not touching the ground. For beginners, try to stand near a pole or a wall to use it as support. Do this for as long as you can on one leg, then switch to the other.
This is a little advanced version of walking exercises. You have to look everywhere from time to time and shift your focus.
Do this exercise by following these steps
You can just follow the suggestions for your own understanding of your balance. This will help you to have a constant sense of balance.
The human body consists of a complex set of sensory and motor systems. Coordination and communication between them are vital for us to have balance. We can treat imbalances by exercising or seeking professional medical help.
Balance problems can cause instability or difficulty in standing or walking. According to the cause, a person can suffer from vertigo, dizziness, and motion sick.
The treatment depends on the condition of the patient. Some options include medication or surgery to manage the condition and various physical therapy techniques to reduce the risk of falls, improve mobility, and enhance the quality of life.
