Balance issues.

Ronni

Ronni

Well-known Member
Location
Nashville TN
Well, actually, the title is maybe a bit exaggerated. I don't actually have issues, like I'm not falling over or getting dizzy all the time or anything.

But I have noticed in the past couple of years that my balance, though still fine, isn't what it used to be. Or maybe it's more that I'm a bit more uncertain? I'm not quite sure.

I know the all the dancing I do (or did, before Covid) has helped a lot with posture, balance, coordination etc., so I think I'm in decent shape for someone pushing 70. But still, I'm noticing little things. If I'm showering and my eyes are closed while I'm rinsing the soap out of my hair and tilting my head this way and that, I'll sometimes feel a bit off balance. Sometimes being on a stool and reaching for something will occasionally trigger a feeling of being unsteady. I know there are other examples, but I can't think of them at the moment.

And again, it's not extreme, not even routine, but it occasionally happens now where it never did before.

Can anyone relate?
 

I have noticed more issues with age.

They say Tai Chi and Yoga are supposed to help with that. Or you could just do little balancing exercises on your own to help build up the muscles for that.

They have short workouts on YouTube for just about everything.
 
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Ronni said:
Well, actually, the title is maybe a bit exaggerated. I don't actually have issues, like I'm not falling over or getting dizzy all the time or anything.

But I have noticed in the past couple of years that my balance, though still fine, isn't what it used to be. Or maybe it's more that I'm a bit more uncertain? I'm not quite sure.

I know the all the dancing I do (or did, before Covid) has helped a lot with posture, balance, coordination etc., so I think I'm in decent shape for someone pushing 70. But still, I'm noticing little things. If I'm showering and my eyes are closed while I'm rinsing the soap out of my hair and tilting my head this way and that, I'll sometimes feel a bit off balance. Sometimes being on a stool and reaching for something will occasionally trigger a feeling of being unsteady. I know there are other examples, but I can't think of them at the moment.

And again, it's not extreme, not even routine, but it occasionally happens now where it never did before.

Can anyone relate?
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That’s another great thing about being in great shape; well formed muscles really help support proper posture and balance. When we get older and our muscles start deteriorating our muscles don’t support us like they used to.

Since you’ve been a dancer and have had good muscle tone most of your life, exercising those muscles again will strengthen them up making your balance much better.

Then again, your blood pressure could be low too.
 
Can definitely relate. My balance issues are migranious in origin. Even without a classic migraine headache, I have periods of woozyness lasting from days to weeks. It's not dizzy ...just an off kilter feeling usually though it can progress to loss of muscle control when severe.
 
Ronni said:
Well, actually, the title is maybe a bit exaggerated. I don't actually have issues, like I'm not falling over or getting dizzy all the time or anything.

But I have noticed in the past couple of years that my balance, though still fine, isn't what it used to be. Or maybe it's more that I'm a bit more uncertain? I'm not quite sure.

I know the all the dancing I do (or did, before Covid) has helped a lot with posture, balance, coordination etc., so I think I'm in decent shape for someone pushing 70. But still, I'm noticing little things. If I'm showering and my eyes are closed while I'm rinsing the soap out of my hair and tilting my head this way and that, I'll sometimes feel a bit off balance. Sometimes being on a stool and reaching for something will occasionally trigger a feeling of being unsteady. I know there are other examples, but I can't think of them at the moment.

And again, it's not extreme, not even routine, but it occasionally happens now where it never did before.

Can anyone relate?
Click to expand...
I could have written this, particularly when in the shower ...so yes I can relate to this.. I don't have any ear problems.. and I have also been a dancer all of my life.. although not so much these past few years..
 
Keesha said:
That’s another great thing about being in great shape; well formed muscles really help support proper posture and balance. When we get older and our muscles start deteriorating our muscles don’t support us like they used to.

Since you’ve been a dancer and have had good muscle tone most of your life, exercising those muscles again will strengthen them up making your balance much better.

Then again, your blood pressure could be low too.
Click to expand...

Huh. I haven't checked it in about 3 months, but I'd be surprised if that was the case. I mean, it gets checked every time I go to donate blood which is around every couple months so I keep it monitored that way. It's always in normal range. But it's certainly worth looking into.
 
Ronni said:
Huh. I haven't checked it in about 3 months, but I'd be surprised if that was the case. I mean, it gets checked every time I go to donate blood which is around every couple months so I keep it monitored that way. It's always in normal range. But it's certainly worth looking into.
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I wouldn't worry unduly about LBP Ronnie..I get my BP checked around every 8 weeks.. and it's never been anything other than where it should be...
 
Ronni said:
Huh. I haven't checked it in about 3 months, but I'd be surprised if that was the case. I mean, it gets checked every time I go to donate blood which is around every couple months so I keep it monitored that way. It's always in normal range. But it's certainly worth looking into.
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It’s just a guess. If mine gets too low I get dizzy etc., but if yours is ok then it’s one more thing to check off your list.
 
Thanks all. I'm glad to not be alone in this.

I also notice that I'm more careful on stairs than I used to be. I mean, I still run up and down them, (I like to take advantage of every opportunity to exert the ole' bod for additional exercise!) but I hold the handrail now. I never used to do that.

And though I don't have knee issues, there's a bit of arthritis I think. Getting up from a squat takes a bit more work than it used to. If there's a piece of furniture handy, I'll use that to help push myself up.

I shouldn't complain. I'm blessed with better health than some of my dear friends who are struggling. But I can't help comparing myself now to the self I used to be. And I suffer in that comparison!!
 
My wife also had some "balance" issues....a bit of Vertigo, etc.....and she had to be a bit careful when bending over. When she went to the doctor with these symptoms, he said there was some problem with the little "bones" in her inner ear that doesn't allow them to properly adjust to her head position. He recommended some exercises she can do, and told her not to make any sudden movements. Over time, and doing these exercises, her condition has improved nicely.
 
Between the peripheral neuropathy and the eye problems, sometimes I look like an old drunk walking around.

My grandfather had a series of strokes and had no feeling in his feet the last few years of his life. He continued to work at a hard physical job (housepainting and paperhanging) up to the day he died, but on bad days he looked like he was drunk. As a teetotaler, this was very embarrassing to him and he hated to think people thought he was inebriated when he stumbled.
 
Ronni said:
Well, actually, the title is maybe a bit exaggerated. I don't actually have issues, like I'm not falling over or getting dizzy all the time or anything.

But I have noticed in the past couple of years that my balance, though still fine, isn't what it used to be. Or maybe it's more that I'm a bit more uncertain? I'm not quite sure.

I know the all the dancing I do (or did, before Covid) has helped a lot with posture, balance, coordination etc., so I think I'm in decent shape for someone pushing 70. But still, I'm noticing little things. If I'm showering and my eyes are closed while I'm rinsing the soap out of my hair and tilting my head this way and that, I'll sometimes feel a bit off balance. Sometimes being on a stool and reaching for something will occasionally trigger a feeling of being unsteady. I know there are other examples, but I can't think of them at the moment.

And again, it's not extreme, not even routine, but it occasionally happens now where it never did before.

Can anyone relate?
Click to expand...
Yes and some people are more prone to motion than others.

For instance. You are sitting in a bus and the bus next to you is moving but it feels like you are moving. It's a vision thing. I'm more sensitive to motion than a lot of people. One incident comes to mind. I was sitting at a stool in a bowling establishment and I felt tremors. No one else noticed. I told the owner who was a friend and he laughed at me.

Well, guess what? The pilings were shifting and they had to go underneath to fix them because the floor was cracking. I notice stuff like that. I can sense an elevator going up and down in a high rise.
 
Add me to the list....in the shower is the worst....then the shampoo gets in my eyes from keeping them open, oh joy.....
I can be standing still talking to the fam and I start falling backwards....only happens now and then....my BP is never low my whole life and never high so that's not the issue....let's just blame it on older age and some of the physical issues we now have ;):rolleyes:
 
Camper6 said:
It could also be medication. One medication that I was taking will no longer be renewed. I asked my doctor about it and he said that they have found out that it causes falling in older patients.
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I am on several with label warnings for dizziness. Thankfully I haven't had too much trouble.
 
JaniceM said:
My father used to say "Never put anything in your ears smaller than your elbow." :eek:
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Funny, my former doc told me this when I said I use Q-tips....she slapped my hand jokingly and said 'don't ever use them again; they can puncture your eardrums if inserted too far'.....did I listen to her?......in a word NOPE.
 
PopsnTuff said:
Funny, my former doc told me this when I said I use Q-tips....she slapped my hand jokingly and said 'don't ever use them again; they can puncture your eardrums if inserted too far'.....did I listen to her?......in a word NOPE.
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He and a doctor said that, too, along with saying it can push ear wax further in.
 

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