Striving for Balance and Mobility
Specialized therapy for dizziness and balance issues is available through the B.E.S.T. Program (Balance Enhancement and Safety Training) at St. Mary's Center for Rehabilitation.
Having good balance control is vital to performing many daily life activities, like getting up from a chair and standing, dressing, bathing, housekeeping, yard work and grocery shopping. Just about everything you do in your daily life, whether for self-care, work or leisure, requires good balance control.
When balance problems, falls and/or dizziness develop, however, they can cause profound disruptions in your daily life. In addition to increased risk for falls, balance disorders can shorten your attention span, cause excessive fatigue and restrict your participation in typical activities, leading to loss of muscle strength, endurance, independence and socialization.
When Balance Problems Arise
The process of balance control is complex and relies on the integration of multiple sensory and motor systems to work properly. Because of this complexity, it often is difficult to determine the exact cause of balance problems and dizziness.
Your doctor may refer you to a balance specialist, a qualified professional who is equipped and trained to assess and treat balance, dizziness and mobility problems.
Specialized therapy for balance issues is available through the B.E.S.T. Program (Balance Enhancement and Safety Training), at St. Mary's Center for Rehabilitation.
The B.E.S.T. Program
The B.E.S.T. Program was designed to help people who have problems with balance, dizziness and falls. Our program is staffed with therapists who have extensive training and experience in balance and vestibular rehabilitation. It was founded and is led by Shannon Vaverka, an occupational therapist, who has focused on balance and vestibular rehabilitation for more than a decade. B.E.S.T. is the only program of its kind in the area.
- Postural orientation
- Postural control and reactions
- Gaze stabilization
- Sensation and muscle strength in your legs
- Analysis of conditions that provoke dizziness, loss of balance and falls
The results of this evaluation form the basis for designing an effective, individualized treatment program. Often, therapy consists of the following interventions to treat specific conditions:
- For balance and decreased mobility
- Balance retraining
- Strengthening
- Functional mobility skills
- Using an assistive device to aid stability
- Compensating for balance, strength and sensory deficits
- Adapting and modifying personal routines and environment to increase safety and independence and help prevent falls
- For vertigo and dizziness
- Specialized treatment maneuvers for treating positional vertigo, when necessary
- Special exercises involving coordination of eye and head movements to improve gaze stabilization
