St. Louis, MO    (314) 939-1377
HouseFit Physical Therapy & Fitness
  • Home
  • About
    • About Us
    • Our Team
    • Success Stories
    • In The Press
  • WHO WE HELP
    • Arthritis Pain
    • Balance Issues
    • Dizziness & Vertigo
    • Healthy Aging
    • Loss Of Independence
    • Parkinson's Disease
  • Workshops
    • Floor Fitness
    • Safe Landing
  • Health Tips
  • Careers
    • Physical Therapist
    • Physical Therapist Assistant
  • Contact
  • Book Dr. Beth
  • Home
  • About
    • About Us
    • Our Team
    • Success Stories
    • In The Press
  • WHO WE HELP
    • Arthritis Pain
    • Balance Issues
    • Dizziness & Vertigo
    • Healthy Aging
    • Loss Of Independence
    • Parkinson's Disease
  • Workshops
    • Floor Fitness
    • Safe Landing
  • Health Tips
  • Careers
    • Physical Therapist
    • Physical Therapist Assistant
  • Contact
  • Book Dr. Beth

Balance & Neuropathy

7/1/2019

 
Picture
By: Dr. Beth Templin

I get asked all the time about how neuropathy, or the loss of feeling in your feet, effects balance. Most people believe that there's nothing they can do to make their neuropathy better or improve their balance and that's not true.
Pain, weakness, numbness and tingling in the feet and legs are the most common symptoms reported by someone experiencing neuropathy. Depending on the underlying cause of the neuropathy, some of these symptoms can be managed.
​

The most common type of neuropathy is diabetic. Your nerves are very sensitive to sugar levels in your blood, so when your sugars are too high, the nerves are damaged. This means the better your sugars are managed, the better your neuropathy symptoms will be controlled. 

Another common form of neuropathy is Vitamin B12 deficiency. When you're lacking this vitamin, you start to lose the protective layer surrounding the nerves and damage occurs. This type can be addressed with vitamin supplements. 

Issues with your back and spine such as spinal stenosis can also cause these symptoms. When there is additional pressure on the nerves as they leave the spine, this can cause damage to the nerves which leads to pain, numbness and weakness. Working on improving your alignment and strengthening weak muscles can help manage this.  

A common misconception is that if you have neuropathy you are bound to have poor balance and there's nothing you can do about it. That's actually not true. 

Your balance not only depends on the feeling in your feet, but also your leg strength, vision and inner ear. People with neuropathy have the ability to improve all of these areas, which leads to improved balance.

In physical therapy we look at several things including your ankle motion and strength. When your ankles are stiff and weak, you are less able to adapt to changes in the ground, making you more unstable. Most often these two things can be improved in people with neuropathy.

The other technique we use in therapy is called sensory integration. While you may have lost some of the feeling in your feet, you usually have not lost 100% of it. In therapy we teach you to better pay attention to the feeling you have left.

This technique improves your awareness of where your feet are and how you stand and walk on them, which of course leads to better balance.

Other things to consider when you have a diagnosis of neuropathy is proper fitting shoes with good arch support.
   

Some of our patients with neuropathy also benefit from use of an assistive device like a cane or walking poles. Using a device can provide you with increased stability when walking.

So if you have pain or numbness in your feet and you're concerned about your balance, know that there is hope and we can help!

Comments are closed.
    Picture

    AUTHOR

    Dr. Beth helps adults 55+ maximize their independence and fitness, so they can continue to enjoy a full and active life.

    Archives

    January 2023
    December 2022
    November 2022
    October 2022
    September 2022
    August 2022
    July 2022
    June 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018

    Categories

    All
    Age In Place
    Agility
    Aging
    Anti Aging
    Arthritis
    Balance
    Benefits
    Bones
    Boxing
    Classes
    Dizziness
    Endurance
    Exercise
    Falls
    Fear
    Fitness
    Fitness Routine
    Flexibility
    Flexible
    Frailty
    Good Posture
    Group Classes
    Group Exercise
    Healthy Living
    Immune System
    Independence
    Intensity
    Joints
    Managing Stress
    Memory
    Movements
    Mucles
    Muscles
    Neuro
    Neuropathy
    One Year Anniversary
    Online Classes
    Osteoarthritis
    Osteroporosis
    Pain
    Physical Therapist
    Physical Therapy
    Posture
    Senior Fitness
    Seniors
    Sensory
    Sore Muscles
    Stiff Joints
    Stiff Muscles
    Stiffness
    Strength
    Strength Training
    Stress At You Age
    Stretching
    Tingling
    Vestibular Rehab
    Weakness

    RSS Feed

Address:
3809 Lemay Ferry Rd
​Saint Louis, MO 63125

​
​Phone Number
:
(314) 939-1377


Fax Number:
​(314) 449-9173


Email:
​
info@housefitstl.com


​Office Hours:
Mon-Fri 8:45am to 4:45pm

Privacy Policy
No Surprise Act

MEDICAL DISCLAIMER:
All information on this website  is intended for instruction and informational purposes only. The authors are not responsible for any harm or injury that may result. Significant injury risk is possible if you do not follow due diligence and seek suitable professional advice about your injury. No guarantees of specific results are expressly made or implied on this website.
Service Area: St. Louis County, St. Louis City, St. Charles County, and Jefferson County
​Copyright 2022 - HouseFit- All Rights Reserved