Just had my first fall of the year, luckily once again in the garden like last time but that required plastic surgery to my right leg, not as drastic this time but five years on from my Ischaemic stroke and following a liver transplant I felt things are improving enough to do some gardening. The sun was shining, no wind but I dared to look up to remove a water spout from my apple tree and down I went. I reached out for the support of a garden bench which promptly sank its full rear leg length into the earth and sent me a*** over t** over the bench to be eaten by a very unforgiving and particularly spiky Pyracantha hedge. I was stuck fast behind the bench and in the hedge for 15 minutes until my partner heard my plaintive calls for help. Grinning from ear to ear whilst desperately trying to show concern I was rescued and provided with a bag of frozen veg. for my leg. Does any one else have problems with balance when looking up or with eyes closed in the shower for example ?
Balance problems after a stroke can occur due to a number of reasons, including vision changes, impaired muscle control, and vertigo.
Vision changes
- Changes in vision and depth perception can make it harder to balance.
- Using vision to compensate for a lack of feeling can be tiring and make you less aware of your surroundings.
Impaired muscle control
- A stroke can weaken your core and leg muscles, making it harder to balance.
- Some medications can cause dizziness or weakness.
Vertigo
If the stroke affected the cerebellum or brainstem, you might experience vertigo, which is the feeling that you or the world around you is spinning.
Other factors
- Paralysis: You might have difficulty moving.
- Reduced sensitivity: You might have reduced feeling in your limbs.
- Concentration problems: You might need more concentration to keep your balance.
- Perceptual problems: You might have difficulty interpreting what’s around you.
Treatment
- Exercise therapy can help improve balance and coordination.
- Physical therapists can help you identify exercises that are best for you.
- Assistive devices, like ankle-foot orthoses, can help you walk.
- Talking to your doctor about your medications can help you find the right combination of drugs.
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Hi Jerry, I’m working from my phone on here today. So I’ve taken the above straight off the internet to reduce the amount of typing to do.
Unless its actually something like vertigo, then chances are it could just be more muscle strengthening that you need. Try some strength and balance exercises, which you can get off the internet. But you need to be doing about an hour a day to really get any benefit from them.
If you’re gardening then I assume you have relatively full function of your stroke arm and leg?
After a full year of walking every day after my stroke, I realised that wasn’t nearly enough for whats needed to get back to the way I was before the stroke. That just gave me the bare minimum to function semi independently! That’s when I started going to strength & balance and body balance classes with Age UK. I also signed up for the gym to do strength training and most of what I’ve done, what I’ve achieved, is self taught via the internet…helps keep costs down. I can’t afford personal trainers or private physio’s or anything like that.
I’m 4yrs post stroke now. For the past year or more, I’ve been able to shower without the risk of unbalancing myself. And I have much greater stability when walking a straight line; I can be talking with a companion and looking around at the same time as we go along without the risk of unbalancing myself. Until I hit uneven pavement that is 
But even triping over a paving stone, I’m finding it easier to save myself from actually falling. And that has always been my game with all this exercising I’ve been doing.
I just didn’t realise it would take so long to recover from a supposed TIA that everywhere I’ve read it says you’ll recover from within 24-48hrs, 4 years and I’m still recovering
Onwards and upwards
Lorraine
Hi, Many thanks for your response, as I suffer from right leg weakness and drop foot I will make enquiries into the ankle-foot orthoses you mentioned. Thanks again. Jerry.
Hey Jerry,
Our Lorraine, @EmeraldEyes has offered some very good advice and information in her response 
She has also posted another article on Balance and Core strength that you may find useful. Hare is the link:
Just watching the video cheered me up, but some very nice tips 
Namaste|
Thankyou Lorraine, Onwards and upwards it is, or employ a gardener.
Best regards
Jerry.
Hi, thats great I will take a look at the video ASAP Many thanks, Jerry
Hey Jerry.
A bit left field this one, but here goes …
Have you been asked if you have a friend called Tom? Or even, how many times have you been asked if you have a friend called Tom?
Oh thanks for that reminder @ManjiB and the link. Saves me having to hunt through my posts now for someone I wanted it for 
Lorraine
Stroke Improvement Group
You’ve written so many good articles @EmeraldEyes
There should be some way of tagging them or grouping them so they come up in a search. But we get there in the end 
You can include search tags in posts that you create, for me it’s just case of remembering to include them 
I just get so immersed in the subject matter and content and getting the answers out for those who are asking, that everything else just goes over my head. I can be so focused I even forget pleasantries. Pleasantries are still a work in progress for my stroke brain. Physically I’m doing pretty good but there are a few things in my stroke brain that are still set to neutral, shall we say 
Another thing members can do to save their favourite posts to refer back to, is bookmarks.
Just click on the three dots beside a Reply button and select the bookmark symbol
You’ll get a drop down menu
If you click on More Options you can even give it a name/description that will remind you of why you bookmarked that post.
Then to find your bookmark click your avatar at the top of your screen, that’s the round symbol with either a letter or your personalised pic in it. Then select the bookmark symbol half way down the drop down menu.
I know you didn’t ask for this, and I’ve gone completely off topic I just thought I’d offer it anyway in case anyone else would find it useful too
Lorraine
Stroke Improvement Group
Hi Jerry
This definitely rings a bell.
I had a small stroke ,14 years ago ,with a blood clot up the vertebral artery to an area that affects eyesight and balance.
As a result I have permanent damage to my left peripheral field of vision and balance.
To an extent I have adapted but need to be careful when putting on trousers to hold on to something or lean against a wall.Wearing a heavy backpack can tip me off balance.The circumstance that you describe with looking up is one that I avoid after several similar falls ,fortunately with no major injury apart from a bad graze from a metal step when I overbalanced and tipped over whilst on a stepladder cutting the garden hedge.
You and I have both learned that we need to avoid ,or be very careful,when doing things in circumstances that might affect our balance.This is a lesson well learned that will keep us safer in future.
I wish you good progress on the journey
Tony
Hi Tony
Many thanks for your uelpful comments, because I find it difficult walking, gardening is one form exercise I find useful and I dont really fancy chair exercises but maybe employing a gardener is the way to go.
Regards
Jerry
Don’t cut off your nose to spite your face Jerry, chair sit to stands would greatly benefit your leg strength for walking as well as for balance. Stronger legs means stable legs, less risk of falls
Lorraine
Stroke Improvement Group
Thank you lorraine. I shall give it a go.
Jerry