Why we can stand upright

Our bodies are constantly working hard to maintain our balance and enable us to move around without falling over.

Maintaining our balance requires different parts of the brain to work together - touch and feel; co-ordination; vision; balance and the parts of the brain that control balance. If one or more of these components are impaired we are more likely to experience a fall.

Find out more about the complexity of keeping the balance by touching the items to he right.

The spine and joints The joints in the spine (especially in the neck) and the other joints in the body contain sensors which detect movement and the skin on the soles contains pressure sensors. All these sensors send information to the brain about the position of the body and help in maintaining balance.