It’s been National Balance Week this week, so I thought I’d do my bit to raise awareness of the issues those of us with balance problems face.

Balance is something we all take for granted, we don’t have to think about it in everyday life. There are three main factors which give us balance, vision, leg muscles inner ears. Take one away and we can usually cope, try standing with your eyes closed and you’re probably OK, try standing on one leg with your eyes closed and it’s not so easy.

Balance problems are often caused by inner ear issues, most people have heard or suffered from vertigo when the head spins on movement, usually lasting only a matter of days. Most people are familiar with that unpleasant feeling when you lose your balance, feel unsteady after a few too many drinks, or unsteadiness after a boat trip. Imagine living with that permanently. Meniere’s Disease causes balance issues, sometimes, like with me, the cause isn’t known and it’s just labelled as vestibular failure.

I have no balance from my ears, there are no bad days or good days, it’s just a matter of managing my issues and being aware of my limitations. As I have no balance from my ears, the other two components of balance are pretty vital. Take away vision with poor light and I’m all over the place, brilliant sunshine can do the same, at this time of year the early morning sun is low in the sky and walking towards it causes issues. Visual clues are important, I need horizons, I don’t mean wide distant views, just a linear marker so I know if I’m going off balance. ‘Horizons’ can be hidden by high hedges or even worse, crowds. I hate crowded areas as everything is moving and there’s no horizon. Sometimes building design makes an unexpected difference, there’s a posh shopping centre in Leeds which has a glossy tiled floor with a large zigzag pattern, it’s a nightmare for me to walk on.

Messages from leg muscles are affected by the terrain. Even, flat surfaces are the best for me to walk on, but rarely exist outside buildings. Footpaths can have quite steep camber and lots of uneven areas due to roadworks. I love walking in the countryside, in the Yorkshire Dales or the Lakes, but I do have to choose my route carefully and I always use walking poles. I’m actually better going straight up a hill, I like a bit of scrambling over rocky areas and as it usually involves hands as well as feet I feel alot safer. I struggle with narrow paths that follow the contour round a mountain, not helped by the thought of the consequences of falling! Very soft terrain isn’t good either, though it does make for a soft landing when I fall!

I like to have a third point of contact, particularly when I’m walking. Waliking poles obviously provide it but it might just be lightly brushing a wall with my finger tips, it doesn’t have to be all the time, it just helps. Similarly if I’m decorating up a ladder, I’ll only use one which has a bar across the top so I can rest my knee against it for that contact point.

Balance issues also cause problems with vision. As my brain doesn’t compensate for head movements, everything ‘wobbles’ when my head moves, so I can’t focus on signs for example when walking down the street. I also struggle in supermarkets as I can’t scan the shelves as I’m walking down an aisle, I have to stop to look. It can be tiring having to concentrate all the time on the little things like this.

Other things can have unexpected consequences on my balance, I started some new painkillers earlier this year which instead of just taking at night time, I had to take 3 times a day. It took a while to realise that this was probably why I suddenly had a lot more falls, I’m used to falling out in the countryside, not whilst getting off a bus!! I reduced the day time dose and changed the times I took them and the falls stopped.

Having said all that, I cope, on the whole it’s manageable. I get on with a pretty full and active life, I know my limitations and on the whole I don’t push them. There’s much worse problems to have than this!

If you’ve managed to get through all this, thank you! If you would like more information there’s lots on the VEDA website