My therapy started by testing my ability to stand, sit, walk, eyes open, eyes closed, bend over and stand up, turn left and right, balance on one leg, etc. They needed a base line so they could measure my improvement.
We started every day with a mild warm up on a stationary bike for abut 5 minutes. The first thing we did as an exercise was to have me walk about 50 feet with my eyes closed...just about impossible for me to do, but there was no hurry. Sometimes I would start falling, but I always caught myself. I ran into the walls...always going towards the left. I had to walk with eyes open, turning my head left and right, then go right back to eyes closed turning left and right.
I stood between to grab rails with an exercise ball under me with a board on top of the ball. Then I had to stand on top of the board, holding on to the grab rails, and I looked like a paint shaker. After abut 20 seconds, most of the shaking quit as my brain began to compensate. I had to sit on top of the ball, and lift one foot off the floor, then switch feet, turning my head left and right.
I had to count backwards or say the alphabet backwards and walk with my eyes closed. I had to walk backwards of sideways and do division. We played catch with a ball. Sometimes it was a direct throw or sometimes it was a bouncing throw. Sometimes it was to the left or the right. Sometimes we walked and played catch.
There was almost no improvement for about 3 weeks, but then the improvement began to show up. The therapist had made a projection of what she thought my progress should be at each testing period. I never measured up to it, but I knew I was doing better. After about 2 months, she said I probably would not improve anymore more, and it was time to call it quits.
It was about a year ago that I started PT. It was well worth it. I am still mildly wonky 24/7. We walk the dog late at night, and without good visual horizontal lines to view, I still stagger. In the day time it is not a problem. Driving is not a problem, but lane changing can cause problems if I turn my head instead of just using my mirrors.
PT helped me improve by balance, but more importantly I discovered all the little things that "rock my world". I know how important my eyes are. Without them I am lost. Just go and have some fun when you so it.
James