Get Balance Problems Under Control

Clients often do not realize they have a balance problem until they fall and get injured while performing simple tasks.

By Kathy Gilligan, photos by Dan Epstein

Having troubles with balance, seeking relief from an injury or undergoing post-surgical rehabilitation? The therapists at Paragon Physical Therapy help clients to restore balance, decrease pain, restore mobility, and ensure independence. Katherine Cwiklinski, PT, DPT, and owner, says clients often do not realize they have a balance problem until they fall and get injured while performing simple tasks, such as reaching overhead, bending over, or getting out of a bath tub. “Having good balance is important,” Cwiklinski says, “because it helps to prevent falls and resultant injuries.”

Developing Better Balance

Balance exercises are therefore part of all physical therapy programs at Paragon. The company is considered a premier practice for vestibular training, which addresses that part of the inner ear that controls balance and is associated with disorders including dizziness, vertigo, and benign paroxysmal positional vertigo or BPPV. People commonly start losing vestibular function in their sixties. Training this system improves balance and allows for independence when walking or performing daily tasks.

Older people are more motivated to address balance problems due to fear of falling and having a greater risk of sustaining a fracture—and they want to maintain their independence. For them, an individualized Balance Therapy program addresses balance and walking skills. “Balance is key to avoiding a fall that leads to greater problems such as fractures in the legs, arms, and hips, Cwiklinski says. “And balance can be retrained to maintain functional independence.”

Benefits All Ages

But balance training benefits people of all ages. An injured high school athlete, for instance, may start training on a flat surface, progressing to the uneven surface of foam pads to relearn balance. To eliminate the fear of falling, especially for older people who use a cane or a walker, a safety harness secured to an overhead rail is used for training. The goal is to retrain the brain to be aware of balance while safely navigating surfaces. Training in this more independent manner, rather than the traditional method in which a therapist holds a patient, allows them to recognize when they are about to fall and learn how to prevent it. And clients rehab more quickly. Paragon offers an orthopedic rehab program that helps with lower back pain, sports injuries, knee and hip replacements, auto accident injuries, neurological and many other conditions and problems as well.

“We also instruct our patients on proper body mechanics and how to squat, lift, and correct body posture to prevent injury.” Cwiklinski adds, “Physical therapy has the power to heal without the need for medications.” Additionally, Paragon offers electrical stimulation and ultrasound treatments for pain relief and muscle relaxation, soft tissue/joint mobilization, and stretching instruction.

Paragon Physical Therapy, formerly known as FYZICAL, is a privately-owned practice that has operated in Little Falls, NJ, for more than 11 years, in that time helping the community to be healthy and achieve its functionality goals. Cwiklinski describes the Paragon “Perfection in Motion” program as innovative in its approach to physical therapy, with its main focus on achieving optimal health and wellness. Whether your goal is to be independent with walking in the community, negotiating stairs and curbs, navigating post-surgery, or getting back to a favorite sport, Paragon can help you reach it.

Paragon Physical Therapy

101 Newark Pompton Turnpike, Little Falls I 973-928-1950