Balance Issues

I have noticed recently that my PALS balance is off. He puts his hand on things to steady himself.

A couple of days ago, I noticed him standing in the yard looking at his phone and he was kinda swaying as he was standing there.

I asked him today if it was from his legs getting weaker? He said they really don't seem much weaker, he just doesn't have good balance when standing still?

Has anyone else experienced this or does anyone know what causes it?

As the muscles decline it takes more attention to maintain balance.
Those little, automatic muscle motions that maintained balance since learning to walk are no longer adequate.

At this point a cane or walking stick should help.

Soonerwife,

Yes, I experience balance problems.

I have lower limb onset and bilateral foot drop. Like Greg said, since you learned to walk, your brain sends messages to your legs to make small movements to keep you upright. Now that signal isn't getting to my leg muscles. I wobble a bit. Every once in a while I'm throwing a leg out to the side to keep from falling over the other side. I think my AFO's help a lot but don't solve the problem completely. I've been pulled over by my dog a couple times. Fortunately, my upper body strength is enough to keep from getting hurt when I hit the ground. As the upper body strength deteriorates I'll have to adjust my life style to avoid broken bones and other problems falls create. Being distracted, being on a cell phone, makes my balance worse; I now need to concentrate on walking or standing which I haven't had to do as far back as I can remember. If I'm standing up and look up, not at the horizon, I'll fall over (I noticed this the first time at the VA hospital where I tried watching a crane working on a new wing). Again as Greg said, a cane or walker is probably a prudent thing to avoid a broken hip or noggin.

Good luck, God Bless.

Bill

I was having balance problems some time before diagnosis, and before I detected weakness in my legs. Looking up or closing my eyes while standing made (and still makes) it much worse. It's also challenging to change direction or pivot. Now with progressive leg weakness it's hard to distinguish balance problems from weak muscles, and I rely on the cane, rollator and whatever I can hold on to while moving through space.

Hi Soonerwife, Steve has increasingly worse balance issues. He finds doorways, walls, and just about anything around to balance on. He uses a cane now since he refuses a walker or the electric wheelchair at this point. The bad thing about Steve's ignoring the dangers is that he has fell several times and broke his toe last week. He does very little to avoid having to walk and does not leave the house.

I hope you can convince your PAL to start using a cane and prepare for the electric chair. As you know, falls are so dangerous and I believe that doing nothing for fear of falling is just as bad.

when i began having balance issues i first bought a pair of nordic trekker poles to walk with for balance. this was emotionally easier to take than using a cane or a walker, and they helped a lot until my arms weakened. the twopoles facilitate better bilateral balance and can help prevent falls to either side, unlike a cane. but it is essential to get the rubber tips for city use, and make sure those tips stay in good shape to prevent slips of the poles.

yep, I'm upper motor neuron dominant so I have major balance issues even though leg strength is fine. also arms are weak so when I fall it is bad. I now use a chair outside the house. 40 steps to get into my house stops me taking it inside - I hop he will consider ssistance

Yes, balance can often go before the real weakness sets in. I believe it is related to spasticity, and I could see that in many of the replies here.

My Chris never had foot drop. In fact his legs deteriorated from the top down really. It started with a lot of atrophy in the hips and the fasciculations started in this thighs, then they began to thin out. I would often look at his calves and feet and they looked so normal. This went on for months, and it wasn't until his calves began to atrophy that he really had to give up walking, or take 15 minutes to get from one room to the next.

But he had spasticity, so walking was off kilter, and so was his balance.

Whenever he fell, it was a balance issue, not a tripping on something. Often he was standing still and on taking the first step he would just go over, not because a leg gave out, but because he would just topple off balance. By this point Chris rarely stood still - he would just walk from one place to another, I suspect standing still was very difficult for him with his balance and spasticity. In fact if he stopped for too long while I organised something about a chair he was going to sit in, getting started again and maintaining balance was really difficult.

It's really important that he considers some walking aids - a cane may be enough to start, but a walker would be far better as he has support on both sides. They are great too as they have a seat, so if he were to walk outside and his phone rings, he can just sit on the seat and have a chat safely.

Thanks soooo much guys! Great info and advice. I will be talking with him about assistance. Like I have said before, he is a very stubborn man and talking him in to assistance devices is a huge challenge. I will work on it though. We leave for Hawaii Friday. He did agree to using a power scooter while there so we will see how that goes. Thanks again for all your help!

it may or may not be safe for everyone in the early stages, but i bought a rehab treadmill and had it fitted with extra handholds for balance. even though i struggle to walk with my horrible walker, i can enjoy 30 minutes of fast walking on the treadmill. working up a sweat is a blessing. i also today bought a rehab bike. i can credit my surrogate for all this new energy!