Balance disorders commonly affect the elderly, They are caused by a number of factors, including medications, disease, poor muscle tone and lack of activity. Outpatient or at-home physical therapy and exercise instruction may help seniors enjoy fuller and more active lifestyles. Whether balance issues are caused by physical conditions or sedentary lifestyles or a fear of falling, physical therapy exercises can help increase balance, coordination, strength and stability.
Benefits
Physical therapy home visits can help with balance and stability. The general decline of muscle strength and neuromuscular disorders such as Parkinson's disease, multiple sclerosis or amyotrophic lateral sclerosis -- Lou Gehrig's disease -- may severely limit your independence and ability to perform daily living activities.
Balance Retraining Therapy
If you've been diagnosed with any type of middle ear damage or infection, your balance and stability may be compromised. Balance retraining therapy is effective in helping you maintain your balance as well as increase your strength, range of motion and ability to perform daily living skills. This type of training can be done at an outpatient physical therapy clinic or location, or by in-home visiting physical therapists. Some exercises performed in balance retraining therapy include hand-eye coordination exercises and range of motion exercises that help your body adapt to changing position, as well as strengthening joints and flexibility and balance exercises with the help of your physical therapist, such as balancing on one foot, then the other.
Heel-to-Toe Walking
Heel-to-toe walking is a common physical therapy exercise used by physical therapists to help rehabilitate patients who've experience balance or gait problems due to stroke. With heel-to-toe walking, you'll practice focused movement and balance by standing on one foot while lifting the other, carefully touching the heel of your forward foot to the toe of your standing foot. You will then lift your standing foot, balancing on the other, and repeat the process.
Balancing Surface
Your outpatient physical therapist may ask you to stand or perform walking or other exercises on a variety of surfaces, according to the Stroke Association. For example, physical therapy for post-stroke rehab often includes asking patients to balance on one or both feet, with or without assistance on changing surfaces such as foam, pavement, grass, sand or chair or sofa cushions. Balancing exercises may help restore confidence to maintain stability and reduce the fear of falling.
Stability
Your physical therapist may also instruct you on stability exercises to strengthen weakened muscles or for general strengthening and coordination benefits. For example, your physical therapist may ask you to stand behind a chair, holding the backrest while you shift your body weight from side to side or forward and backward. This type of exercise also helps those diagnosed with vertigo or one-sided weakness caused by stroke or disability.
