Let’s try a little experiment.  Stand next to the back of a chair or a wall that you can use to hold onto if you need it.  Now, stand on one leg and try and keep your balance.  Try each leg and see if you are steadier on one leg rather than another.

Now stand on the “steadier leg” and close your eyes.  Is it harder or easier to keep your balance?  For most people, balancing is much harder.  That’s because our eyes are “hard-wired”  to assist our bodies with balance.  It is an internal rule that our bodies always want our eyes parallel to the horizon. When our eyes are closed, the body depends on the input it gets from our inner ears and our foot on the floor to tell the brain where we are in space and if we are upright.

If we need our eyes for good balance, then conversely if our eyesight is poor, our balance is compromised.  It is possible to train our bodies to compensate for poor vision by doing exercises designed to strengthen the brain’s dependence on inner ear and foot contact (called proprioception).

Jerilyn Stalford PT, OCS is our Balance Specialist at ABA Physical Therapy.  She can provide exercises to help you feel more stable.  But even with the right exercises, you still have to practice!