Cincinnati Chiropractor Advises: Get Your Balance Checked to Avoid Work Injuries
At my Cincinnati Chiropractic Clinic I treat many seniors who suffer from balance problems. In fact, 9% of adults, aged 65 and over, have episodes of dizziness, “wooziness,” and other balance-related problems. Good balance is essential, of course, in helping older adults in staying independent and in avoiding falls and encounter injuries that are commonly very serious or even fatal. But, would you be surprised to hear that falls contribute to a large number of work injuries for individuals younger than 65 years of age, including workers in their twenties and thirties? That’s right! No one is immune to balance problems, no matter how young they may be. It is for this reason that those who work in “high places” like construction workers, roofers, oil platform employees, windows cleaners, or anywhere else where a ladder is necessary are far more likely to sustain serious injury if their balance isn’t good.
The essential capacity of good balance is to assist us in managing and maintaining our body position, whether standing still or moving, and whether on the ground or high up on a platform. Good balance helps us to walk without stumbling, arise from a sitting position without teetering, and to climb stairs without slipping. To sum it up, then, good balance is vital to our health and well-being.
What come as a surprise to you is that you could have a balance problem without any idea of how serious it is. Sometimes someone may be able to “shake off” a dizzy sensation and the feeling may not reoccur for a while. However when sudden dizziness happens at a decisive moment, it is too late to shake it off and a fall is usually unpreventable.
The feeling by some individuals that they, themselves, are spinning or that things around them are moving is called “vertigo.” Nearly 40% of people in the U.S. will have at least one episode of dizziness that is distressing enough to seek out a health professional, like your Chiropractor in Cincinnati. However, if you are involved in any of the activities listed above, it is a highly beneficial idea for you to see a chiropractor to have your balance checked prior to a sudden episode of dizziness, instead of as a response to such an episode. Why? Because as a chiropractor, I can not only check your balance, and make adjustments if necessary, but can help you to maintain good balance in the future. And, of course, having good balance will likely save you from serious injury or worse.
Balance disorders at any age are dangerous. It is crucial for you to be examined and treated quickly if you think that you may have a possible balance disorder. Often guidelines are helpful. Therefore, if you can answer “yes” to any of the following questions, even if the experience is seldom or infrequent, you should discuss the symptom(s) with a chiropractor as soon as possible:
• Have you experienced a feeling of being “unsteady?”
• Has the room seemed to spin around you?
• Has there ever a time when you felt as if you were moving when you knew you were standing still?
• Have you lost your balance and/or fallen down?
• Have you ever felt as if you were falling?
• Has your vision ever become “blurred?”
• Have you ever felt disoriented, or lost a sense of time, place or identity?
It is important for you to remember that balance problems are not specific to a particular age group. From the time we learn to walk until we take our final step, our falling down is an ever-present possibility. If you work in a job that makes your falling down a “critical” event, you need to have your balance checked. Don’t wait until it’s too late! If you’re in the Cincinnati area, give Cincinnati Chiropractic a call today!