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The Brain Science Of Why We Fall More As We Get Older
What happens inside our brain that makes us more susceptible to falling?
As we age, can we keep our body function or use it? Are we just destined to be a falling stat as we get older?
Here at Next Level Neuro we make sure that all our students in our applied neurology mentorship know that the drills learned to help the brain and nervous system do not discriminate by age. Our brains can change at any age.
Falls are the leading cause of injury for adults ages 65 years and older. Over 14 million, or 1 in 4 older adults report falling every year. This chart shows the number of older adult fall-related deaths by month and year, including the most recent provisional data available. You can access the full interactive chart by clicking this link. Falls are the leading cause of fatal and nonfatal injuries among older adults.
Falls are a major concern for people of all ages, but especially for the elderly. Understanding how everything above the neck helps everything below the neck can help us explain how applied neurology can impact our client's health, no matter their age.
Your brain and nervous system change as fast as you can snap your fingers and it does not matter our age. The brain is always learning and adapting.
At the heart of the falling is the vestibular system, a small but crucial part of our inner ear that plays a significant role in maintaining our balance and spatial orientation.
Here is the brain neuroscience of a fall and how the vestibular system works to keep us upright and stable.
Here is what we will cover:
1. Role of the Vestibular System In Falling
2. 2 Key Functions of the Vestibular System
3. Responsibilities of the Vestibular System
4. Importance of the Vestibular System in Preventing Falls
5. Integration of Vestibular Inputs and Outputs
6. Recognizing Vestibular Issues in Clients
Role of the Vestibular System In Falling
Vestibular System Primary Responsibility
The vestibular system is primarily responsible for maintaining our equilibrium and sensing gravity.
It helps our brain answer the critical question, "Which way is up?" by using gravity as a reference point.
This system is essential for preventing falls, as it helps us maintain our orientation to gravity and provides crucial information to our nervous system, which in turn helps our muscles and body structure to keep us upright.
The question many ask; Why does the brain stop being as efficient as it once was?
Answer: For all the reasons that coaches, personal trainers, and therapists get hired for and everything they try to get you to change. We call it threat, you call it stress, trauma, lack of sleep, poor nutrition, the sitting disease, and the list goes on and on.
Good news: We can train it back with applied neurology.
Before we get into the importance of the Vestibular system when preventing falls, we need to understand the function and why this little piece inside your ear, the size of your pinky nail, is a GIANT to our overall health.
The vestibular system is a small structure located within the inner ear and encased in the temporal bone, providing protection. Despite its small size, it is susceptible to damage from head trauma, whiplash, and concussion. For the sake of this article we will discuss the finer points of the anatomy at a later date.
2 Key Functions of the Vestibular System
1. Spatial Orientation
One of the vestibular system’s main functions is to determine our spatial orientation.
It answers the question, "Which way is up?" by using gravity.
When you’re in an avalanche and buried in snow, you can determine which way to dig by spitting and seeing which direction your spit falls.
This simple but effective method illustrates how gravity helps us orient ourselves. The vestibular system senses change in acceleration and velocity in the XYZ axis—forward and backward (Z axis), side to side (X axis), and up and down (Y axis).
2. Rotation and Head Movement
Another critical function of the vestibular system is sensing head rotations, which are described in terms of pitch, roll, and yaw.
Pitch refers to the nose of an airplane tilting up or down, roll refers to the airplane's wings tilting side to side, and yaw refers to the nose of the airplane moving left or right.
The vestibular system senses these rotations and coordinates with our muscles to maintain balance and prevent falls.
Additional Responsibilities of the Vestibular System
1. Visual Stability
The vestibular system includes reflexes that keep our eyes focused on a target even while our head is moving. To test this, hold a pencil in front of you and gently rotate your head from side to side while keeping your eyes fixed on the pencil.
If this system isn’t functioning correctly, your vision will be unstable, making activities like jogging feel like watching a shaky cam movie. This instability can cause headaches, nausea, and a constant feeling of disorientation.
2. Maintaining Balance
The vestibular system is crucial for maintaining our balance by coordinating muscular compensations.
This helps us stay stable and avoid falls, which is especially important for the elderly, as falls can lead to serious injuries like fractures and bleeds.
3. Autonomic Function
The vestibular system helps regulate blood pressure during positional changes, such as when sitting up from lying down. It prevents blood from pooling in the body and keeps it in the head, preventing lightheadedness or passing out, which is vital for conditions like POTS (Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome).
4. Spatial Orientation
In addition to determining "Which way is up?" the vestibular system helps us understand our movement and orientation in space.
This is crucial for safe navigation and spatial awareness in activities ranging from walking to playing sports.
Importance of the Vestibular System in Preventing Falls
Vestibular dysfunction can cause numerous musculoskeletal issues, such as tension, scoliotic changes, and myofascial winding, highlighting the need to check vestibular function in clients with diverse complaints like back issues, hip problems, or IT band syndrome.
Ask yourself, why do so many runners get IT band syndrome and some do not? Think of the bouncing up and down and the threat put on those who have a poor functioning vestibular system.
The brain sends signals to slow the body down (IT band syndrome) because it can’t stabilize correctly through the visual and inner ear (The Vestibulo-Ocular Reflex). This is one of the most important reflexes in the human body because it stabilizes our vision while our head is in motion
Integration of Inputs and Outputs
The vestibular system integrates various inputs, including head motion, linear acceleration, and visual and proprioceptive information, and generates outputs that help us maintain our posture and balance.
This complex integration ensures that we can perceive our orientation, control our posture, and stabilize our eyes on a target, even during movement.
Recognizing Vestibular Issues in Clients
Vestibular dysfunction can manifest in various ways, such as dizziness, disorientation, visual instability, tension, and pain.
These symptoms can often be misattributed to other issues, making it crucial to assess vestibular function in clients with complaints like constant tension, chronic pain, or unstable vision.
Understanding the brain anatomy of a fall and the critical role of the vestibular system can help us better appreciate the complexities of balance and stability while using applied neurology to have our clients lead a very 'stable" life.
By recognizing the signs of vestibular dysfunction and assessing its function in clients with diverse complaints, we can address underlying issues and improve our client's balance as a proactive measure.
The vestibular system’s importance in maintaining our equilibrium, visual stability, and spatial orientation underscores its crucial role in preventing falls and restoring our true internal compass.
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6 Reasons For Adding Vision Training To Your Training Routine
How Do I Know Which Area Of the Brain To Train
Understanding How The Brain Interprets Stress and Its Importance - The Threat Bucket
The Top 6 Posture Clues Linked To Your Brain
The Brains Role In Posture
