Why you should improve your balance

Poor balance is directly tied to back pain, according to research from Alex Ruhe, a chiropractor and PhD candidate at Murdoch University in Australia. Although this was a known connection, this is the first time a linear connection has been established.

Ruhe found that people with neck, mid-back, and low-back pain typically have poor postural sway. The more intense a person’s pain is, the more their postural sway is off-balance. Fortunately, after just three manual-therapy treatments,  patients’ balance quickly improved as their pain dissipated.

In the study, the postural sway of 210 patients was measured using a solid fore plate with receptors at each corner that tracked weight shifting. These sway patterns were then compared with the sway patterns of 70 healthy individuals. Back-pain patients were asked to rate their pain levels at the beginning of the study. Their pain and posture sway were monitored throughout the time that they received series of manual-therapy treatments.

The fact that patients’ pain and balance improved simultaneously means that balance may provide a new “objective monitoring tool” for tracking back-pain patients’ progress.

References

Thomas, Chris. “Posture balance directly linked with back pain.” January 17, 2011.  Science Network Western Australia. http://www.sciencewa.net.au/3841.html. Accessed January 26, 2012.

Mayne, Hayley. “Back pain putting people off balance.” November 18, 2011. Murduch University. http://media.murdoch.edu.au/back-pain-putting-people-off-balance. Accessed January 26, 2012.