The Balance Center Treats One of the Most Common Causes of Accidents: Dizzy Spells and Falling
Did you know that the number one reason for a hospital emergency room visit is injury from accidental falling? Except for young adults between 15-24 years old, ALL other age categories are affected by unintended falls. Many of these occurrences stem from dizziness caused by impairment to the vestibular system, which helps us stand upright, maintain balance, and move appropriately by coordinating information between the brain, inner ear, and eyes.
Deborah Heart and Lung Center’s Balance Center staff is spreading the word that dizziness and loss of balance are not routine conditions. They also want to tell residents that preventing dizziness is not only possible, but the very best way to prevent against unnecessary falls and injuries.
Just ask Deborah patient Ed Brown. A long-time volunteer at the hospital, he began suffering from severe vertigo which caused him to stop volunteering for four months. Finally so dizzy that he became confined to a wheelchair, he went to Deborah’s Balance Center. The expert staff helped him with a repositioning maneuver and eye movements that he practiced both at the rehab center and at home. The program immediately began relieving his symptoms. After four visits to the Balance Center he was driving himself to his appointments.
“I could not lay flat without my head spinning. I slept in my lounge chair for three months, laying with my back on an angle and a foot rest holding my legs out straight. After treatment at the Balance Center I felt so much better,” he said.
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