Fall Prevention in Bournemouth: How Chiropractic Improves Balance and Stability
How Chiropractic Improves Balance and Stability
By Leslie Budzynski DC ~ BCA Registered Chiropractor (BCA Reg. No. 0072) since 1987 & GCC Registered Chiropractor (GCC Reg. No. 00043) since 1999 | Bournemouth Chiropractic explains how balance and taking a bad fall or accidentally toppling over affects so many people. Exploring what we can do about fall prevention in Bournemouth
If you have take a terrible tumble and are looking for help with preventing further incidences, you’ve come to the right place. I feel strongly that balance and strength lie at the heart of preventative care for falls.
Falls and Balance, Strength and Coordination
A fall can happen in an instant, one minute you are upright and the next on the ground in a tangle of pain and the consequences of this can often be far reaching. Falls are one of the common causes of injury we see here at Bournemouth Chiropractic. In a lot of cases they are preventable and avoidable. Sometimes they are just bad luck and you tripped and didn’t right yourself quickly enough, but often they can be the result of underlying issues with balance, muscle strength, joint mobility or coordination.
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Early assessment can prevent serious injury
Why do falls happen in Bournemouth and beyond?
Falls become more likely when the body’s balance systems aren’t functioning as well as they could be. Several factors can increase the risk:
| Poor balance & coordination Balance relies on a complex conversation between your inner ear, eyes, joints, and nervous system. Spinal dysfunction can disrupt this. | Muscle weakness Weak hips, legs and core make it harder to recover from a stumble just before it leads onto a fall. |
| Joint stiffness Restriction in your ankles, knees, hips and spine reduce your ability to respond quickly to uneven ground or stairs and can lead to a stumble. | Poor posture A stooped or forward leaning posture shifts your centre of gravity, making you overall less stable. |
| Reduced proprioception Your body’s subconscious sense of position in space can be blunted by spinal dysfunction and inactivity over time. | Inactivity or injury Reduced activity due to illness, injury or a sedentary lifestyles will lead to muscle weakness and stiffness. Your balance systems need time to recalibrate. |
How chiropractic supports falls prevention in Bournemouth
At Bournemouth Chiropractic, we take a whole-body approach to movement and function which makes chiropractic care particularly well suited to fall prevention in the first place. Avoid, avoid, avoid it happening but if it does, we can work together to sort things out.
How we approach your care and treatment from a chiropractic viewpoint is:
Spinal and joint manipulation
When joints aren’t moving freely the nervous system receives less accurate information about posture and position. Manipulation or mobilisation helps restore joint movement. This then improves proprioceptive feedback, your built-in natural sense of balance.
Muscle strength and coordination
Where weakness or imbalance is present, we’ll put together an in depth rehabilitation programme. It will focus on the hips, legs and core because these are the muscles that keep you stable.
Postural assessment and correction
A detailed look at how you stand, move and carry your body can reveal postural habits that quietly undermine your stability. This is addressable through treatment, exercise and/or lifestyle advice.
Balance and proprioception training
Specific balance exercises retrain your nervous system. They sharpen your body’s ability to detect and correct instability before it becomes a fall.
Benefits and Considerations of Fall Prevention Treatment
Benefits
| Considerations
|
⚠ Seek urgent care if:
- You’ve hit your head or lost consciousness after a fall
- A fracture or significant injury is suspected
- You have sudden weakness, numbness or difficulty walking
Further reading Suggestions:
Balance and stability don’t exist in isolation. Remember the human body is complex and we are a web of interconnecting systems. Balance and your all round stability are part of what we refer to as chiropractic health. Our post on chiropractic health and the four pillars explores further how movement, sleep and lifestyle all interconnect. Well worth an additional read. There is also an informative piece of writing on differentiating hip pain and back pain which might be helpful. There is also an enjoyable and achievable set of exercises and self testing on a blog about maintaining mobility at all stages of life which includes advice on osteoarthritis and wear and tear. In addition to this, I suggest some other further reading. If back or hip pain is also limiting your movement on top of everything else then our guide to low back pain covers how restoring spinal function supports balance.
Ready to improve your balance and stability?
Falls are most certainly not something you simply have to accept as part of getting older. In fact ageing is a fact of life, time passes and our bodies change but it is by no means presumed to be a decline in abilities, it’s just change. With the right support, it is possible to maintain and improve your balance and strengthen your body through out life.
We have years of knowledge and experience here at Bournemouth Chiropractic. Yes like everyone, we are experiencing ageing ourselves, but we pay no regard to the negative connotations of it. Getting older and wiser more like!
We see patients for chiropractic treatment from across Bournemouth, Poole, Christchurch and the wider Dorset area and we’d love to help you and to make a difference to your wellbeing.
Further light reading for you:
For many of our patients reduced stability and back pain go hand in hand and one directly affects the other. If low back pain is also an added concern, our detailed guide to low back pain treatment is a helpful guide for advice and very much worth a read as is our guide to scoliosis.
Staying active is one of the most important factors in reducing fall risk. Our post on chiropractic health and the four pillars explains how exercise, sleep and nutrition all work together to support your balance and stability.
Sleep deprivation also reduces proprioceptive awareness and reaction time, increasing the risk of suffering from a fall.
How to Book in for a Chiropractic Treatment
Book in to find out whether chiropractic can help improve your balance and help reduce your risk of falling over. I offer you the opportunity to book a free 15-minute consultation with me at Bournemouth Chiropractic. We’re available Monday to Saturday and usually have appointments within 48 hours.I see a wide demographic of patients who travel from across the BCP area from local areas including Ashely Cross, Whitecliff, Branksome Park, Parkstone and Penn Hill and Branksome.
If you’d like to find out whether chiropractic can help with your balance or mobility, here’s exactly what to expect on your first visit
Book Your Appointment
Or book a free 15-minute consultation — we’re happy to answer questions before you commit
Frequently Asked Questions About Falls Prevention in Bournemouth
Can chiropractic treatment really help prevent falls?
There is good clinical evidence to support this. A randomised controlled trial published in the Journal of Manipulative and Physiological Therapeutics found that chiropractic care improved sensorimotor function in older adults, directly reducing falls risk. This mechanism is well understood. Spinal manipulation restores joint movement, which improves the accuracy of proprioceptive signals which is your body’s subconscious sense of where it is in space. Better proprioception means faster, more accurate corrections when your balance is challenged. In simple terms that means correcting topples and preventing falling over.
At what age should I start thinking about falls prevention?
Earlier than most people expect. Balance and proprioception begin to decline gradually from around the age of 40 and muscle strength from the 30’s. Most people don’t notice these changes until a stumble, topple or near miss makes them obvious. Addressing underlying joint stiffness, muscle weakness and postural changes before a fall happens is far more effective and far less disruptive than treatment after a fall. If you are in your fifties or sixties and have noticed any reduction in confidence or balance on stairs, uneven ground or in the dark then that is worth addressing this.
How many sessions will I need to see improvement in my balance?
This varies depending on the underlying causes and how long they have been present. Many patients notice improvements in balance and confidence within four to six sessions. This is even more effective when a home exercise programme is followed consistently between appointments. A full assessment at the outset gives a much clearer picture of what is involved. I explain what a realistic timeline looks like for your specific situation. It is very personal and individual.
What is proprioception and why does it matter for falls prevention?
Proprioception is your body’s built in sense of position. It is the system that tells your brain where your feet, legs and spine are in space without you having to look. It relies on receptors in your joints, muscles and tendons sending accurate signals to your nervous system. When joints are restricted or movement patterns are disrupted, these signals become less reliable and your ability to detect and correct instability slows down. This is one of the key reasons people fall, not just weakness alone, but a delay in the body’s response to an unexpected shift in balance. Chiropractic care targets this directly by restoring joint movement and improving the quality of proprioceptive feedback.
Is falls prevention treatment suitable if I have osteoporosis?
Yes but with appropriate modification. Osteoporosis is one of the factors we ask about at assessment, as it influences which techniques are most suitable. Manual therapy approaches can be adapted to be entirely safe for patients with reduced bone density. Improving balance and muscle strength is particularly valuable in osteoporosis because it reduces both the likelihood of a fall and the severity of injury if one does occur. Most importantly, please mention any diagnosis of osteoporosis or osteopenia when you book, it helps us prepare the most appropriate assessment for you.
I still have questions, where can I look for the answers?
We have a dedicated FAQ page, for all your questions about chiropractic care, which should answer almost everything for you.
Medical Disclaimer
This post is intended for general informational purposes only and does not constitute medical advice. Individual circumstances vary and the information provided here may not apply to your specific situation. If you have experienced a recent fall, suspect a fracture, have lost consciousness, or are experiencing sudden weakness, numbness, or difficulty walking, please seek urgent medical attention. If you have a diagnosed condition such as osteoporosis, a neurological condition or are taking blood-thinning medication, please inform your practitioner before beginning any new treatment or exercise programme. Leslie Budzynski is a registered member of the British Chiropractic Association (BCA) and the General Chiropractic Council (GCC reg no 00043). You can verify Leslie’s GCC registration (number 00043) at any time on the GCC’s online register.
References for this article on Fall Prevention in Bournemouth
- NICE Guideline NG249 — Falls: assessment and prevention in older people and in people 50 and over at higher risk (2025). National Institute for Health and Care Excellence. The current UK clinical guideline on falls prevention, replacing CG161 (2013). nice.org.uk/guidance/ng249
- Public Health England (2017). Falls and fractures: consensus statement and resources pack. PHE Publications. Establishes falls as one of the leading causes of injury-related hospital admissions in England, particularly in older adults. gov.uk/government/publications/falls-and-fractures-consensus-statement
- Granacher U et al. (2013). Effects of core instability strength training on trunk muscle strength, spinal mobility, dynamic balance and functional mobility in older adults. Gerontology, 59(2), 105–113. Supports the link between core and hip strength training and improved balance and fall prevention. doi:10.1159/000343152
- Hrysomallis C (2011). Balance ability and athletic performance. Sports Medicine, 41(3), 221–232. Reviews the role of proprioception and joint mechanoreceptors in maintaining balance. doi:10.2165/11538560-000000000-00000
- Holt KR et al. (2016). Effectiveness of chiropractic care to improve sensorimotor function associated with falls risk in older people: a randomised controlled trial. Journal of Manipulative and Physiological Therapeutics, 39(4), 267–278. doi:10.1016/j.jmpt.2016.02.003
- Gillespie LD et al. (2012). Interventions for preventing falls in older people living in the community. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, Issue 9. CD007146. doi:10.1002/14651858.CD007146.pub3
- Lord SR et al. (2007). Falls in Older People: Risk Factors and Strategies for Prevention (2nd ed.). Cambridge University Press.
- Sherrington C et al. (2019). Exercise for preventing falls in older people living in the community. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, Issue 1. CD012424. doi:10.1002/14651858.CD012424.pub2
