Dizziness? Tripping? Falling?
The Balance Center Can Help

An NWTHS therapist works with a patient to improve his balance.

If you are prone to trips and falls, have trouble keeping your balance or sometimes feel light-headed or dizzy, visit The Balance Center at Northwest Texas Healthcare System (NWTHS).

Since the Center opened in 2002, physical therapists have helped more than 1,000 people maintain their balance and improve coordination.

"Falls are, first and foremost, what we're trying to help patients avoid," says Aaron DeLong, MPT, ScD, COMT, Physical Therapy Supervisor at NWTHS.

Dr. DeLong says most patients with balance problems may also suffer from:

• Inner ear dysfunctions
• Lack of sensation in the feet and legs
• Vision problems

At The Balance Center, physical therapy is used to isolate a problem -- perhaps a loss of feeling in the feet due to diabetic neuropathy -- and train the remaining sensory functions (the inner ear and visual fields) to compensate for this loss.

VERTIGO OFTEN A CULPRIT
Vertigo, a false sensation of spinning that leads to dizziness or discomfort, often causes balance disorders.

Patients who experience peripheral vertigo -- usually caused by a problem within the inner ear's balance organs or peripheral sensory organs versus central vertigo -- undergo a series of controlled movements to correct the disorder. Treatment is available for:

• Positional vertigo -- a short-lived type of vertigo that results from a sudden position change, including rolling over in bed or sitting up quickly
• Unilateral vestibular hypofunction -- a more serious type of vertigo caused by a loss of or lowered ear function that produces a constant feeling of rotational motion

THERAPEUTIC OPTIONS
A patient with positional vertigo experiences feelings of dizziness when a small calcium carbonate crystal formation (called an otolith) within his/her inner ear detaches and falls into the organ responsible for sensing motion.

"When a patient moves, the crystal moves abnormally, giving the patient a spinning sensation," says Dr. DeLong. Treatment for positional vertigo requires a patient to lie on his/her back, while a physical therapist turns the patient's head through a series of movements, or repositioning maneuvers.

"The maneuvers force the dislocated otolith through the inner ear's semicircular canals, and back to its original location," explains Dr. DeLong. "Therapy is effective in treating positional vertigo about 95 percent of the time."

When a patient experiences unilateral vestibular hypofunction, adaptation therapy is required.

"During adaptation therapy, we retrain parts of the brain that interpret motion to interpret a feeling of stillness," Dr. DeLong says. "Treatment can take up to six weeks before a patient begins to feel relief and see results."

Patients who receive treatment at The Balance Center need a physician referral. To learn more, please call 806-351-7045.

Are You at Risk of Falling?
You may call it clumsiness, but some people are more at risk of falling than others. Certain medical conditions put you at risk for falls, and others put you at risk of having a "bad" fall and a slow recovery.

Ask your physician if you would benefit from fall prevention services at The Balance Center at Northwest Texas Healthcare System if you have any of the following conditions:

• Diabetic neuropathy
• Diabetic retinopathy
• History of inner ear disorders
• Osteoporosis
• Vision loss

1501 S. Coulter, Amarillo, TX 79106 (806) 354-1000