Vertigo: Senses That Help Your Balance and Position
Topic Overview
Your brain uses the input from four sensory systems to help maintain
balance and position in relation to your surroundings:
- Vision provides
information about your position and motion in relationship to the rest of the
world. This is an important part of the balance mechanism and often overrides
information from the other balance-sensing systems.
- Sensory nerves in the joints allow the brain to keep track of
the position of the legs, arms, and trunk. Your body is then automatically able
to make tiny changes in posture that help maintain balance
(proprioception).
- Skin pressure sensation
provides information about position and motion in relationship to
gravity.
- A portion of the inner ear, called
the labyrinth, which includes the semicircular canals, contains specialized
cells that detect motion and changes in position.
If there is a problem with any of the above systems, you will
probably feel dizzy (unsteady) or have vertigo (spinning) or poor
balance.
Credits
| By | Healthwise Staff |
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| Primary Medical Reviewer | Anne C. Poinier, MD - Internal Medicine |
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| Primary Medical Reviewer | Donald Sproule, MD, CM, CCFP, FCFP - Family Medicine |
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| Specialist Medical Reviewer | Barrie J. Hurwitz, MD, MD - Neurology |
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| Last Revised | February 15, 2011 |
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Last Revised:
February 15, 2011
