Ear Problems And Senior Balance Exercises

Senior Balance Exercises For Dizziness

By Suzanne Stoke, Physical Therapist @ Exercise For Balance via www.exerciseforbalance.com

   In later years, many aging individuals complain of balance problems as well as dizziness symptoms, which can be helped by performing certain senior balance exercises. Please see more information at   http://www.exerciseforbalance.com/buy-now For those older adults who have experienced symptoms of vertigo, dizziness or lightheadedness, you can testify to how frustrating and exhausting those feelings can be. In addition, those in the aging population who struggle with their steadiness  also battle fear of falling as well as a greater risk for a fall. According to the National Institute of Health, inner ear problems and balance issues can be due to the tiny organ in your inner ear called the Vestibular System. Your inner ear contains many tiny structures that together make up the vestibular system (your balance control center). These structures include the fluid-filled semi-circular canals of the labyrinth in the ear. The semi-circular canals are lined with tiny hairs and also contain many nerves. The hairs and nerves work together so you automatically have a sense of the position of your head, as well as the movements of your body and the pull of gravity. There are also calcium crystals inside the labyrinth that help you sense movement and gravity. Researchers report that the number of nerve cells in the vestibular system drops after the age of 55 years. This decline gets worse the older we get.

Vertigo

If you have vertigo—the feeling that you or everything around you is spinning—you probably have a problem in the labyrinth of your inner ear. The most common inner ear disorders that produce vertigo are:

• benign paroxysmal positional vertigo (BPPV)

• labyrinthitis or acute vestibular neuritis

• Meniere’s disease

• migrainous vertigo

• acoustic neuroma

Benign Paroxysmal Positional Vertigo (BPPV)

Sometimes, the calcium crystals in your inner ear break loose— either because of an ear infection, a bump on the head, ear surgery, or aging. The crystals can then travel into one of the semicircular canals. When you move your head, these misplaced crystals can shift position. If this happens, incorrect messages may be sent to your brain about your head position. BPPV comes on suddenly and powerfully.  It is the most common cause of vertigo in older people.  Moving, standing up, turning in bed, or slightly changing your head position makes it worse. The intense symptoms usually come and go, and last for less than a minute. But they tend to reappear frequently over the course of many days. Along with the vertigo, you may also experience

• dizziness and lightheadedness

• unsteadiness and loss of balance

• blurred vision

• rapid side-to-side eye movements that are not under your control

• nausea and vomiting

• migraine

  With these symptoms, older individuals are encouraged to practice certain senior balance exercises to build overall steadiness and minimize the possibility of a fall.

Senior Balance Exercises For Better Stability

   By rehearsing senior balance exercises every day, older adults are able to enhance their steadiness and reduce their risk for falling.  one of the critical stability strategies involves being mindful or aware of the sense of touch between your foot and the floor. Additionally,  Equilibrium routines that can be performed every day can involve standing on one foot. Single phase standing is a basic aspect of the stance phase of walking. You can progress to walking stability routines like tandem walking. With tandem walking, you walk along a line in a heel to toe fashion. In this narrow position with your feet, you will challenge the balance reactions at your feet and ankles. You can learn these senior balance exercises as well as a step by step progression of other exercises presented in the exercise for balance DVD.

Senior Balance Exercises In The Exercise For Balance DVD

Learn balance exercises with the Exercise For Balance DVD

    To enhance your stability,  get started on a course of the best balance exercises with the Exercise For Balance DVD. The healthcare provider recommended Exercise For Balance DVD is a high quality instructional DVD to use at home or in a group setting. The easy to understand and simple to follow Exercise For Balance DVD includes  a step by step series of the latest balance and strength exercises necessary to optimize senior fitness and to carry out basic daily activities like shopping, doing laundry,  walking, standing, cleaning house, stair climbing or to advance to more difficult pursuits like skiing, dancing, playing golf and hiking. In the  comprehensive Exercise For Balance DVD, you will learn how to improve stability, how to apply steadiness techniques and how to safely execute balance routines from a  qualified balance specialist --- licensed Physical Therapist---who has worked with balance and dizziness disorders for over 25 years. Get your copy of the Exercise For Balance DVD by clicking on the BUY NOW button

Be stable by starting balance exercises today with the Exercise For Balance DVD to improve balance and prevent falls.
For more information see http://www.mayoclinic.com/health-information/