Dizziness can often make us less confident to go out independantly, or even to move around in our own home
As part of your balance therapy, research has shown that brief frequent exercises can help your body, balance mechanism, eyes and brain to feel a little more confident
These exercises can be done in conjunction with the specific exercises that your Vestibular Therapist will have given you to realign your balance mechanism.
And the best thing is... they're really simple and can be part of your everyday life!
When you are standing at the bathroom sink in the morning, just as you have finished brushing your teeth, perhaps with one hand on the sink.. looking straight ahead, perhaps focus on ond area, lift up your left foot off the floor for a few inches. Just for a few seconds, balance on your right leg. Count for how many seconds you can keep your left foot off the ground before you feel unsteady. Put your foot down as soon as you start to feel uncomfortable. If you can manage 10 seconds, that's amazing! If you can manage 5 seconds, great job!
Now try the same for your right leg. Lift your foot off the ground a few inches.. and count how long you can balance.
You might feel your tummy muscles tighten to help steady yourself. That's a good sign. You might find that you tightened your grip on the sink. That's ok to start but as you try again tomorrow and the next day, try and just counterbalance with your fingertips on the sink rather than hanging on tightly.
Try doing this exercise at the kitchen sink when you're doing the washing up. Or standing at the worktop waiting for the kettle to boil.
As you build up the time you can lift your foot, your brain and body will learn and relearn about balance.
When you can manage 30 seconds on each leg, why not try closing your eyes? You might find you can only manage a few seconds as the brain isn't getting the horizon information from your sight. Gradually, and with pratice, research shows that this exercise can contribute to better independant balance and a reduction in balance anxiety
There are also other balance confidence exercises you can do.. look out for more information on the website.