​Balance, Posture and Fall Facts:

• Feeling dizzy, lightheaded or feeling as if the room is spinning around you are signs of balance problems if they occur frequently.
• Balance problems are a common reason seniors see their doctor.
• Good balance means being able to maintain and control your body's position. A health sense of balance helps you:
• Walk without staggering
• get up from a chair without falling
• climb stairs without tripping
• bend over without falling
• Balance is important to help you get around, stay independent, carry out daily activities and reduce the risk of a fall.
• Falls are caused by a loss of balance or being unable to recover your balance.

What you can do:

• Keep notes on your balance problem: what it felt like, what you were doing at the time, how long the imbalance feeling lasted
• Talk to your family doctor about it. There can be many causes of balance problems and dizziness. Appropriate treatment is based on a diagnosis of the cause of the problem.
• You may be referred to a Physical Therapist for assessment and treatment, depending on the diagnosed cause of your balance problems. You may be sent for tests to determine the cause of your imbalance.
• Exercises to improve balance and posture can be very helpful.