Balance Chicago

4/17/10: Support Group for Dizzy and Inner Ear Balance Disorders

balancechicago — Tue, 30 Mar 2010 18:10:26 +0000

Join us on Saturday, April 17th for our Vestibular Support Group, for individuals with dizziness, vertigo, or balance issues. This support group is set up as an open forum to meet other individuals in the community with vestibular disorders. We will also have Physical Therapists certified in vestibular rehabilitation available to answer any questions you may have about vestibular disorders or therapy.

We have a special guest speaker who will teach us how Tai Chi benefits individuals with dizziness and balance disorders as well as some basic moves.

If you are affected or have been affected by any of the following, please consider joining us:

BPPV (Benign Paroxysmal Positional Vertigo)
Peripheral or central vestibulopathy
Vestibular migraine
Meniere’s Disease
Labrynthitis
Tinnitus

We would love all of those affected by vestibular disorders to join us! Friends and family, as well as other support systems, are welcome.

Where: 3130 N Lincoln Avenue in Chicago, IL (60657).

When: Refreshments will be served at 11:30am. The meeting will begin at 12pm and will last for approximately one hour.

To RSVP, please call: 773-525-5200.

Chicago Marathon 2010

balancechicago — Sun, 21 Mar 2010 18:00:21 +0000

Congrats to all of the Shamrock Shuffle finishers! This race was a little cold but much better conditions than last year’s storm.

Next stop – Chicago Marathon 2010!

Stop by for a free injury screen to check out those aches and pains before or during your training. We even have one of our own physical therapists running the marathon with you. We always welcome runners of all levels to come in to get screened. Call for your appointment: 773-525-5200.

Spring 2010 Vestibular Support Group

balancechicago — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 17:59:08 +0000

Join us on Saturday, April 17th for our Vestibular Support Group, located at our office at 3130 N Lincoln Avenue in Chicago, IL (60657). Refreshments will be served at 11:30am and the meeting will begin at 12pm and will last for approximately one hour.

We would love all of those affected by vestibular disorders to join us! Friends and family, as well as other support systems, are welcome.

To RSVP, please call: 773-525-5200.

If You Are Dizzy…

balancechicago — Tue, 16 Feb 2010 21:22:12 +0000

…Keep moving!

It will be very difficult for dizzy patients to hear that they should keep doing their daily activities when their symptoms flare up. Their first instinct is to become inactive and take rest days. What will help your vestibular system is to rest until your symptoms settle down and then go back to your normal activities.

When you become active, you are training your brain to get used to different incoming signals. This in conjunction with daily vestibular exercises will help with rehabilitation of your vestibular system.

Vertigo and 3-D Movies

balancechicago — Thu, 11 Feb 2010 20:38:56 +0000

As posted recently by VEDA, this article written about the 3D movie Avatar has been an interesting find in the dizzy community. As the article states, watching 3D movies can cause symptoms of dizziness, nausea and headaches, similar to those symptoms of vestibular disorders.

How are these related? Check out the article!

http://bodyodd.msnbc.msn.com/archive/2010/02/08/2197380.aspx

Tai Chi and Balance Disorders

balancechicago — Wed, 27 Jan 2010 19:00:15 +0000

A recent study conducted in 2008-2009 showed that the martial art practice Tai Chi is an effective treatment for people with vestibular disorders.

Tai Chi

Tai Chi is an practice incorporating slow movements of the body into different postures using your own body’s coordination. According to the American Academy of Otolaryngology, Tai Chi is helpful for those with balance disorders because it helps people concentrate on their own coordination.

http://www.medindia.net/news/Tai-Chi-Proved-Effective-Against-Dizziness-Balance-Disorders-59053-1.htm

Muscle Cramps – What are They?

balancechicago — Sun, 10 Jan 2010 21:37:29 +0000

A friend of mine was running the other day and caught a cramp in her leg. We were talking about her leg cramps, which turn out to happen quite often, and she asked me what exactly is a cramp and how she can avoid it in the future. I thought I’d share it with my readers!

When you exercise your muscles contract and then relax in quick succession. A cramp happens when your muscle contracts but does not relax, and becomes hardened. It may be difficult, once you have a cramp, to relax the muscle and pain may result.

Some causes of cramps include:

Injury to the muscle: Muscles may spasm, and then cramp, around the site of an injury to stabilize the injury site.
Nocturnal cramps: Small movements during the night of muscles causes shortening of the muscles which lead to cramps – which is why you may wake up in the middle of the night with a Charley Horse!
Dehydration: Fluid loss during exercise causes the muscles to shorten up and tense up. Cramps in seniors may result from poor fluid intake.

Other causes for cramps can be found on the website provided below, but my friend’s reason was most likely from dehydration. For cramps caused during exercise, it is essential that you do a proper warm up and cool down and make sure you get plenty of fluids before, during and after your workout (also can be found on the website provided below). And make sure you stretch before and after your workout!

http://www.medicinenet.com/muscle_cramps/article.htm

February Vestibular Support Group Coming Soon!

balancechicago — Sun, 10 Jan 2010 20:50:14 +0000

Just a heads up, the next Vestibular Support Group will be taking place in February. Details will be announced soon!

The Inner Ear and Balance in 90 Seconds

balancechicago — Mon, 04 Jan 2010 22:05:14 +0000

Technology never ceases to amaze me. The amount of information we all have at our fingertips is astounding.

Learn more about your inner ear and how it affects your balance in this quick, 90 second video.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BbKU0AbbARg

Enjoy!

New Year’s Resolution: Maintain Your Sense of Balance

balancechicago — Thu, 31 Dec 2009 16:05:43 +0000

New Year’s Resolutions are always easy to state and hard to maintain. Lose weight, exercise every day, be nicer to your mother, the list of possibilities are endless.

One senior in Boston, Gail Hunter, came up with the right resolution in an effort to age gracefully: Exercise to maintain your sense of balance.

And she is completely correct.

Physical therapy can do wonders for dizziness and balance disorders, one of them being BPPV. Gail states some statistics in her article from VEDA that 50% of dizziness in the elderly is caused by BPPV and dizziness and imbalance are symptoms experienced by 40% of adults 40 years or older. If you are one of these individuals, therapy with a PT trained in vestibular rehabilitation can get you feeling like a million bucks! (And don’t be afraid to ask for your PTs credentials.)

Check out Gail’s full article:

http://www.examiner.com/x-28418-Boston-Senior-Wisdom-Examiner~y2009m12d21-Positive-New-Years-Resolution-8–Maintain-your-sense-of-balance-B-Steady-there