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For many years now I have had balance problems when walking upstairs. I need to watch the stairs and hold on to the rails in order not to stumble.

This is extremely annoying to me and I tried to fix the problem many times by just refusing to hold on to the railing and trying to walk at a normal speed anyway. Every time, I end up doing a larger than necessary step and I stumble, or I nearly fall backwards. I can't seem to improve at all.

Has anyone here ever seen any similar problems and do you have any advice on how to deal with it? Is there any kind of professional that I can see to help me get rid of this problem?

I have seen a neurologist and I was told that there is no underlying medical problem, but I was not given advice on how to fix this.

I also have no problem riding a bicycle. If I ride fast enough, I even manage to let go of the handlebar, though I can't reliably take turns this way. (Yes, I'm clearly clumsier than most people, and have worse balance, but if I manage with the bicycle, the neurologist is probably correct that there's no underlying medical cause for the stair-walking problem.)

Strangely, if I take the stair steps 2-by-2, I have no problem. Walking on very tall stairs or irregular rocks (e.g. mountainside "stairs") is also not problem (I'm slower than average, but I don't feel the need to hold onto something). It's only the normal stairs that I must deal with every day that cause issues. As far as I can tell, the problem developed many years ago when I lived on the 7th floor in a building with no functional elevator, and I got into the habit of always taking stair steps 2-by-2 while also pulling myself with the help of the rails.

Pampam
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  • You might want to talk to a physiotherapist, the specialize in movement issues. It's worth the $75 for an hour (ballparking the price) to help you understand what's going on. – Eric Apr 01 '18 at 16:37
  • @Eric Thanks for the tip! I did not know that physiotherapists deal with such things. – Pampam Apr 01 '18 at 19:36
  • I second the PT thing. I wonder if maybe you have a severe muscle imbalance that shows up when you make that movement. I suffered a herniated disc once and my traps felt locked up for 6 months. Once that finally resolved, it wasn’t until I had problems swimming that my PT found that lower traps were basically “turned off.” I simply could not activate them any longer. After learning how to turn them back on, my swimming cane right back. Anecdotal for sure, but it can happen. – Frank Apr 02 '18 at 00:40
  • It could be a simple matter of your core muscles being weak. If it isn’t a equilibrium problem that is. – JustSnilloc Apr 02 '18 at 13:19
  • @Eric Given that it was closed, could you please delete the question fully? – Pampam Apr 04 '18 at 09:04

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