It is widely known that our ears play a big role in our sense of balance, anyone who has ever had a middle ear infection has probably noticed a tendency to feel a little dizzy or off balance until the infection goes away.
What isn’t as widely known is that there is a phenomenon known as proprioception which also has an important role in keeping us balanced and coordinated, proprioception is thought to be controlled by our joints and muscles. If you were to stand naked in a warm dark room with your arm extended from your side it is not your sense of touch that tells you your arm is sticking out because there is no sleeve around it to give you that sensation. It is your sense of proprioception that makes you aware of your body’s position in space.
Proprioception affects the whole body but is most important in our neck and ankles, it is thought that the role that the proprioceptors play in our neck is to coordinate our head movement with using our eyes,( think about the myriad of subtly different positions you can move and hold your head in). Head movements are also a communication tool , when we talk in an animated fashion we move our head continually to emphasise different words and for dramatic effect. We can read a lot of body language from how people move their head and eyes- both common place and fascinating.
As for our ankle proprioception it is a marvel of physics how well we can move on our feet given how short and narrow they are in comparison to our body height. Proprioception is thought to enable us to do this, proprioception is like an onboard stabilizing and steering computer system.
Proprioception is adversely effected by poor circulation and muscular tightness, this explains why our balance and coordination may feel less effective even if our ears are fine and the balance and movement centres in the brain are functioning normally. If you have been uncharacteristically clumsy and bumping into things lately press into your neck and calf muscles and see how they feel. If there is any soreness or tightness there may be a relationship between your tight muscles and reduced ease of movement, it might be time to get some acupuncture or massage. Proprioception is also positively influenced by exercises such as yoga and tai qi.
The highest bone in your spine is the atlas (also known as C1). If C1 is misaligned it can cause dizziness, clumsiness and uneven muscular tensions. Poor posture can cause this.
The muscles in your feet play a big part in balance too, if standing on one foot is much easier on one side over the other it might be time to do some Self Massage to your feet and exercise them.