Feeling Off-Balance? Find Your Footing

Balance problems can be caused by many different conditions, or even by certain medications that you take.

Some specific types of balance problems include:

• Vertigo: Vertigo is a feeling that you are spinning or moving when you aren’t, sort of like how you feel after you get off a double-twist upside-down roller coaster. Inflammation or a buildup of fluid in the inner ear can cause vertigo.
• Faintness: Faintness is caused by a drop in blood pressure or insufficient blood flow from the heart, distinct from lightheadedness.
• Lightheadedness: Lightheadedness differs from faintness in that it is caused by anxiety disorders, hyperventilation, or inner ear problems.
• Loss of balance: A loss of balance can be musculoskeletal in nature or can stem from neurological deficits as well. It can also be brought on as a side effect of certain medications. Older individuals with poor vision and weak muscles and joints due to musculoskeletal or neurological deficits are more likely to have balance problems.