In the 'Symptoms - Aging' section of our in-depth questionnaire we ask the following question about physical balance:
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Balance. Stand on a hard surface with feet together. Close your eyes and lift your dominant foot about six inches (15cm). How long can you stand on your other foot without falling or opening your eyes? For better accuracy, do this 3 times and average.
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Your answer |
...indicates |
...and suggests |
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"I can't do this test / I am injured / don't know" |
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| 2. |
"Under 4 seconds (poor balance)" |
Poor balance |
A symptom |
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"4-9 seconds" |
Poor balance |
A symptom |
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"10-25 seconds" |
Average balance |
A symptom |
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"Over 25 seconds (very good balance)" |
Good balance |
A symptom |
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Your answer will affect the likelihoods of the conditions below.
Any answers in green reduce the likelihood of the condition.
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| Answers |
Condition |
Comment |
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Mercury Toxicity (Amalgam Illness) |
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Premature/Signs of Aging |
Reuters, March. 17, 2008: How well people get around and keep their balance in old age is linked to the severity of changes in their brains, research suggests. Age-related white matter brain changes are associated with gait and balance disturbances.
Dr. Hansjoerg Baezner, from University of Heidelberg in Mannheim, Germany, and colleagues studied the impact of age-related white matter changes on functional decline in 639 men and women between the ages of 65 and 84 who underwent brain scans as well as walking and balance tests. Of the group, 284 had mild age-related white matter changes, 197 moderate changes, and 158 severe changes.
They found that people with severe white matter changes were twice as likely to score poorly on tests of walking and balance as those with mild white matter changes. They further found that people with severe changes were twice as likely as the mild group to have a history of falls. The moderate group was one-and-a-half times as likely as the mild group to have a history of falls. |
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Vitamin B12 Requirement |
Difficulty with balance is a symptom of B12 deficiency. |
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GLOSSARY
Centimeter (Centimeters, cm)
A metric unit of length equaling one hundredth of a meter, or ten millimeters. There are 2.54 millimeters in one inch.
Cobalamin (B12, B-12, Cobalamine, Vitamin B12)
Essential for normal growth and functioning of all body cells, especially those of bone marrow (red blood cell formation), gastrointestinal tract and nervous system, it prevents pernicious anemia and plays a crucial part in the reproduction of every cell of the body i.e. synthesis of genetic material (DNA).
Last updated: Dec 09, 2008
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