Category: Balance

  • What Is Balance?

    Balance is the ability to maintain one’s center of mass without falling over. Whether standing, walking, running, riding a bicycle, on a gymnast’s balance beam, etc., this is done using one’s: Vestibulo-ocular reflex a.k.a. VOR (i.e., inner ears and vision) Proprioception (i.e., the sense of one’s own physical orientation) Physical coordination All of these involve…

  • Bicycling with Ataxia

    Having SCA3, riding a road bicycle is easier for me than walking. I lack the coordination to walk efficiently, but I can still ride a bicycle under certain conditions, though my ability is dropping precipitously. How does a bicyclist stay upright? The bicycle does not keep itself upright in spite of the rider. It’s not…

  • Walking, Running, and Bicycling

    How does having SCA3 ataxia affect walking, running, and riding a bicycle? I will describe my own experiences. My primary physical SCA3 issue, reigning above all others, has been vision degradation, due I suppose to my sluggish eye muscles, which in turn has been impairing my vestibulo-ocular reflex, which means my inner ears (vestibules) and…