Millions Of ‘Astronauts on Earth’ Are Being Underserved
In the United States, we have a growing population of people in need of care. According to one 2009 study, over 69 million Americans – including one in three adults in the U.S. over the age of 40 – are currently being underserved. Who are these people and what do they need? They are ‘Astronauts on Earth’, simply known as people with dizziness and balance issues in need of vestibular therapy.
What is vestibular therapy you ask? It is a regimen of treatments for your vestibular system located in the inner ear. The vestibular system tells the brain about the movements and position of your head. When we sit, stand, move, or experience motions (such as in a car or elevator) information is relayed to your brain, which uses it to interpret motion, equilibrium, and your orientation in space. When this system isn’t functioning properly, that is when we experience dizziness symptoms.
Not many people realize that the real-life astronauts were actually on the forefront of retraining vestibular therapy! When they returned to Earth – and gravity kicked in – their vestibular systems malfunctioned. Their bodies continued to try to adapt, reorganizing their other senses, often maladapting, causing dizziness and other vestibular issues.
Similarly, as we age and become less active, we naturally lose the function of our balance systems, leading us to become like those astronauts returning to Earth. The phrase, “if you don’t use it, you lose it” becomes a reality. And statistically, the number of our potential earthbound astronauts continues to grow at a shocking rate!
Starting in 2011 and continuing into the 2030’s, 10,000 people are turning 65 every day according to AARP. Combine this with the fact that one in four Americans aged 65+ falls each year, and it is already the leading cause of fatal and non-fatal injuries for this age group. Based on these statistics, more and more people will be seeking diagnosis and treatment for balance-related issues.
As ‘astronauts’ on earth, where do we go to find physicians or therapists who are at the forefront of the science, with protocols for balance-related care? What should we look for? Chances are these doctors are already seeing some balance patients, but likely treating them for the resulting other issues vestibular dysfunction can cause. For example, these patients may present in various ways:
- Patients with a hip or shoulder injury due to a fall or balance disorder.
- Patients with an ongoing balance problem that is aggravating an orthopedic condition. For example, lower back pain, shoulder and neck pain.
- Patients with an undiagnosed balance problem, nothing to do with orthopedic. An example may be a patient who feels dizzy when they lie down.
In the past, if physical therapy was considered, it was simply as an option. Many were often prescribed medication or put on an assistive device like a cane or walker.
Until recently, physical therapy wasn’t seriously considered to treat dizziness. Now, as physicians’ understanding grows, balance patients are being referred to specialized physical therapists from a variety of sources, including neurologists, otolaryngologists, cardiologists, primary care and more.
As more and more patients feel fed up being bounced from one referring doctor to another, without getting the diagnosis or treatment they need, they look for more specialized options. On average, patients consult four or five doctors before receiving a diagnosis. Patients are recognizing the need to advocate for themselves and are increasingly seeking solutions on their own.
Many people with balance issues are in danger of falling through the cracks, pun intended. How can you make sure you are not one of them?
Start with a fall risk assessment. We are shifting towards a climate of prevention; the best way to address falling is to prevent it from happening to begin with.
So how should we earthbound astronauts be diagnosed and treated? The driving force that causes most dizziness symptoms is what we call sensory mismatch. The theory is that when you develop a balance disorder, particularly vestibular, your brain attempts to reorganize your other senses to adapt to the dysfunction. Many times, it maladapts and creates prolonged dizziness symptoms. There is more than one type of sensory mismatch: some are vision dependent, some are surface dependent, some are a combination of the two.
These conditions are treated based upon a conceptual and progressive framework that connects the sensory mismatch to a treatment protocol. Remember the ‘you don’t use it, you lose it’ theory? The inverse is true for balance retraining: if you use it, you’ll get it back.
FYZICAL has developed methodologies to identify the sensory mismatch and identify where to start the therapy. FYZICAL’s framework provides the foundation for critical analysis and clinical judgment; it eliminates guesswork so you can feel confident with the treatment.
If you are experiencing dizziness and think you may be one of our ‘earthbound astronauts’, talk to the balance experts! Want to learn more about the FYZICAL Balance Paradigm and whether therapy is right for you? Get a free balance assessment.
Contact Fyzical Therapy and Balance Centers of Lockport for your free assessment to determine how physical therapy can benefit you!
FYZICAL®
FYZICAL Therapy and Balance Centers of Lockport
16109 Farrell Rd.
Lockport, IL 60441
p: (815) 306-4781
f: (815) 534-2438
fyzical.com/Lockport-il
Sources:
- Agrawal Y, Carey JP, Della Santina CC, Schubert MC, Minor LB. Disorders of balance and vestibular function in US adults. Arch Intern Med. 2009;169(10): 938-944.
- National Council on Aging.
- VEDA survey, 2011