Many people who have suffered from a stroke, injury or musculoskeletal condition may find that their balance is affected. These conditions can often cause an individual to lose their ability to balance which can affect how they walk and go about their daily life. Our GP home doctor service in Costa del Sol will work closely with you to develop a tailored balance re-education plan.
To balance correctly, you need:
- muscle power
- a range of movement in your joints
- concentration
The balance re-education techniques that our GP home doctor service recommend work to help improve each of these three components. As a result, the techniques can help to significantly improve your balance after an injury, stroke or surgery.
Balance re-education consists of a combination of manual techniques, activities to improve your balance and core control and other therapeutic exercises that are designed to enhance your ability to carry out controlled movements.
If you find that standing and moving makes you feel dizzy and causes you to lose your balance, our GP home doctor service will start off by recommending some basic exercises. These can include:
1. Nodding Your Head
Try to nod your head up and down ten times in the space of ten seconds. Pause for ten seconds and then repeat. Make sure you tip your head back and forward as far as is comfortable and possible on each nod.
2. Shaking Your Head
Turn your head from left to right and then from right to left ten times in ten seconds. Rest for ten seconds and then repeat.
Once you find that you're able to complete both these exercises without making yourself dizzy try doing them standing up. Make sure that you're by something you can sit on if you need to!
If you start to notice that you can complete this exercise without feeling dizzy while standing, try doing it with your eyes closed. Completing these exercises will help to hone your concentration and improve the mobility in your spine. Both these improvements will help to strengthen your balance.
Our GP home doctor service will also recommend that you try incorporating an exercise ball or Bosu into your work out routine. Using these pieces of equipment to do lunges, squats, sit-ups and boat poses will help to strengthen your core muscles, which are crucial to proper balance.
As your balance improves and movement stops making you feel dizzy, you can try some more intense exercises. These include:
1. Walking
A five or ten-minute walk every day can really help to strengthen your body and improve your balance.
2. Ball Games
Playing games involving throwing and catching will help improve your coordination, concentration and mobility. All of this adds up nicely to improve your balance.
If injury or illness have affected your balancing abilities, get in touch today and see how our GP home doctor service in Costa del Sol could help.