{"id":15234,"date":"2025-05-26T10:30:59","date_gmt":"2025-05-26T10:30:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ent.gr\/?p=12434"},"modified":"2025-05-26T10:29:15","modified_gmt":"2025-05-26T07:29:15","slug":"balance","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ent.gr\/en\/balance\/","title":{"rendered":"Balance. What controls the body&#8217;s position and posture?"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_81 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-grey ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<div class=\"ez-toc-title-container\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\" style=\"cursor:inherit\">Table of Contents<\/p>\n<span class=\"ez-toc-title-toggle\"><a href=\"#\" class=\"ez-toc-pull-right ez-toc-btn ez-toc-btn-xs ez-toc-btn-default ez-toc-toggle\" aria-label=\"Toggle Table of Content\"><span class=\"ez-toc-js-icon-con\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #999;color:#999\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #999;color:#999\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a><\/span><\/div>\n<nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/ent.gr\/en\/balance\/#What_is_balance\" >What is balance?<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/ent.gr\/en\/balance\/#Balance_and_movement\" >Balance and movement<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-3\" href=\"https:\/\/ent.gr\/en\/balance\/#Sensory_information\" >Sensory information:<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-4\" href=\"https:\/\/ent.gr\/en\/balance\/#Processing_conflicting_sensory_inputs\" >Processing conflicting sensory inputs<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<div class=\"wpb-content-wrapper\"><p>[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]<span style=\"font-family: helvetica; font-size: 18px;\">Smooth body movement and balance are taken for granted. Thus, most people have no difficulty walking on beach sand, on an uneven gravel path, or getting up at night in the dark. However, if there is damage to the body&#8217;s balance system, such activities can be particularly tiring or even dangerous. Instability can also be accompanied by dizziness, vertigo, vision and hearing problems, difficulty concentrating and memory impairment.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"What_is_balance\"><\/span><span style=\"font-size: 24px; font-family: helvetica;\">What is balance?<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: helvetica; font-size: 18px;\">Body balance is the ability to maintain your centre of gravity within your base of support, preventing falls and ensuring stability. It&#8217;s a complex process that involves multiple systems working together. These include the visual, vestibular (inner ear), and proprioceptive (sensory nerves) systems. When the balance system is functioning properly, it allows a person to:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"font-family: helvetica; font-size: 18px;\"> orient themselves correctly in relation to gravity, <\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-family: helvetica; font-size: 18px;\">see clearly in motion, <\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-family: helvetica; font-size: 18px;\">easily determine the direction and speed of movement, and <\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-family: helvetica; font-size: 18px;\">make automatic corrections to the body&#8217;s posture in order to maintain balance, in various conditions and activities.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Balance_and_movement\"><\/span><span style=\"font-family: helvetica; font-size: 24px;\">Balance and movement<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<div id=\"attachment_12441\" style=\"width: 310px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-12441\" class=\"wp-image-12441 size-medium\" title=\"Balance and Movement\" src=\"https:\/\/ent.gr\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/%CE%B9%CF%83%CE%BF%CF%81%CF%81%CE%BF%CF%80%CE%B9%CC%81%CE%B1.%CE%B5%CF%85%CE%B9%CC%81%CE%B1%CF%83%CE%B9%CF%82-300x255.jpg\" alt=\"Balance and Movement\" width=\"300\" height=\"255\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-12441\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Balance and Movement<\/p><\/div>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: helvetica; font-size: 18px;\">A complex set of sensorimotor data achieves and maintains balance through vision (optics), touch (proprioception), and the vestibular system (motion, posture, spatial orientation). Accordingly, this information is integrated, analyzed, and leads to adaptive movements of the eyes and body. Medications, injuries, diseases, and aging can affect one or more of the above systems. Furthermore, psychological factors may also affect balance.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Sensory_information\"><\/span><span style=\"font-size: 24px; font-family: helvetica;\">Sensory information:<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"font-size: 18px; font-family: helvetica;\">Visual stimuli: Light is detected by <a href=\"https:\/\/my.clevelandclinic.org\/health\/body\/photoreceptors-rods-and-cones\">rods and cones<\/a> (sensory receptors of the retina) and converted to visual signals in the brain. These signals help orient the individual in relation to other objects in the visual environment.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-family: helvetica; font-size: 18px;\">Muscle, tendon and joint stimuli: Sensory receptors from the legs, arms and other parts of the body send nerve signals to the brain, in order to determine the position of the body in space.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: helvetica; font-size: 18px;\">Of particular importance are sensory stimuli that come from:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"font-family: helvetica; font-size: 18px;\">the cervix (neck) that indicate the direction in which the head is turning, and from<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-family: helvetica; font-size: 18px;\">the ankles that provide information about the movement of the body in relation to the surface on which it is standing, as well as the quality of the surface (hard, soft, slippery or uneven).<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-family: helvetica; font-size: 18px;\">Vestibular system inputs: Sensory information about posture, movement, and spatial orientation is provided by the vestibular system. When the sensory organs on both sides are functioning normally, the inputs they send to the brain are symmetrical.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Processing_conflicting_sensory_inputs\"><\/span><span style=\"font-size: 24px; font-family: helvetica;\">Processing conflicting sensory inputs<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: helvetica; font-size: 18px;\">The human balance system includes a complex set of sensorimotor control systems.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: helvetica; font-size: 18px;\">When sensory input from different sources is conflicting, i.e., when one of these subsystems is damaged, disorientation occurs. The result will be balance disturbances, as well as other symptoms such as dizziness, vertigo, vision problems, nausea, fatigue, and difficulty concentrating. The disruption to the patients&#8217; lives and daily routines is significant. Due to the complexity of the system,<a href=\"https:\/\/ent.gr\/en\/vertigo-dizziness\/vertigo-dizziness-what-could-be-the-problem\/\"> diagnosing<\/a> and treating the causes of the disorder is a challenge.<\/span>[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row pix_padding_top=&#8221;pix-top-no-padding&#8221; pix_padding_bottom=&#8221;pix-bottom-no-padding&#8221; gradient_colors=&#8221;%5B%7B%7D%5D&#8221;][vc_column width=&#8221;1\/3&#8243;][vc_btn title=&#8221;Contact us&#8221; color=&#8221;turquoise&#8221; align=&#8221;center&#8221; i_icon_fontawesome=&#8221;fa fa-phone&#8221; add_icon=&#8221;true&#8221; link=&#8221;url:%2Fen%2Fcontacts||target:%20_blank|&#8221;][\/vc_column][vc_column width=&#8221;1\/3&#8243;][vc_btn title=&#8221;Book an appointment&#8221; color=&#8221;turquoise&#8221; align=&#8221;center&#8221; i_icon_fontawesome=&#8221;fa fa-calendar&#8221; add_icon=&#8221;true&#8221; link=&#8221;url:%2Fen%2Fappointment||target:%20_blank|&#8221;][\/vc_column][vc_column width=&#8221;1\/3&#8243;][vc_btn title=&#8221;Get directions&#8221; color=&#8221;turquoise&#8221; align=&#8221;center&#8221; i_icon_fontawesome=&#8221;fa fa-map-marker&#8221; add_icon=&#8221;true&#8221; link=&#8221;url:https%3A%2F%2Fwww.google.com%2Fmaps%2Fdir%2F%2FEyiasis%2BENT%2BAcupuncture%2C%2BGeor.%2BDrosini%2B16%2C%2BKifisia%2B145%2B62%2F%4038.0718225%2C23.8122364%2C15z%2Fdata%3D!4m8!4m7!1m0!1m5!1m1!1s0x14a19edf40479729%3A0xa4593bd0e0aed04b!2m2!1d23.8122364!2d38.0718225||target:%20_blank|&#8221;][\/vc_column][\/vc_row]<\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Body balance is the ability to maintain your centre of gravity within your base of support, preventing falls and ensuring stability.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":15008,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[161,153],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-15234","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-neuro-otology-dizziness","category-vertigo-dizziness"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ent.gr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15234","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ent.gr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ent.gr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ent.gr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ent.gr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=15234"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/ent.gr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15234\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ent.gr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/15008"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ent.gr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=15234"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ent.gr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=15234"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ent.gr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=15234"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}