Your brain enables balance via sensory information

Our brains are wired so that we can maintain an upright vertical position without really giving it too much thought.  From the time we were toddlers learning to stand and walk our brains had worked out what it takes to defy gravity.

We take for granted what our brains are doing “behind the scenes” on a day to day basis to keep our spines straight.

Balance is a function of the sensory information our brains receive.  This information comes from three parts of our body

• the feeling in our muscles and joints,
• our eyes
• our ears

The brain processes all 3 sources of information and then, with lightning speed, tells our muscles in our spine and limbs two things

• when to contract
• how much to contract

If all this has been done correctly, our balance is steady and our spine is straight.

 

When things go wrong

HOWEVER, and this is the thing, IF the information coming into the brain is not accurate, then the spinal stability will be affected.

If, for example, for some reason, the inner ear is sending incorrect information to the brain and telling it that straight is actually 5 degrees to the left, the brain will need to tell the muscles of the spine to on the RIGHT side to switch on to avoid falling to the left.  In this sense, the spinal muscles will get tight as they hold the person from falling left, where the ears are telling the brain to go.

This constant tug of war between inner ear imbalance and reflexive spine muscles will be a cause for lower back pain.

From the outside, the person will look straight but on the inside the spinal muscles are pulling constantly to achieve the balance.

If you have back pain, close your eyes and stand with your feet together to see how much you sway.  How much you sway is an indication of how well you can balance without your eyes to help.

 

So what does this mean?

Fixing the back pain , in the case of the inner ear imbalance, requires fixing the inner ear or vestibular portion of the balance equation.  Many people don’t realise this, and will continuously get physical treatment for their back without any permanent resolve.

You can solve the balance-back pain problem by working on the inner ear or eyes so that you calibrate them to be accurate again.  This alleviates the need for spinal muscle “workload” and so settles the back pain.

To do this you must find a therapist with neurological training and go through the necessary steps.  MWE therapists are trained to look at the central structures of the brain.

Life’s better when you’re moving with ease

Paul Michael