What's Up Docs? Doctors' Notes: Balance
Apr 28, 2026
Maggie Stacey, a neurophysiotherapist and vestibular rehabilitation specialist, explains why alcohol upends our balance and how inner-ear structures shape stability. She discusses balance testing and training, how balance develops in children and declines with age, common clinic problems like vestibular migraine, and why early balance practice could be a public-health game changer.
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Balance Is A Foundational Multi-System Function
- Balance is a complex, multi-system function that most people don't think of as a defined bodily system.
- Maggie Stacey describes balance as a foundational system involving vestibular, vision, proprioception and central processing centered in tiny inner-ear structures the size of a little finger tip.
How Maggie Found Vestibular Rehabilitation
- Maggie discovered vestibular rehab after many ENT referrals in a neuro outpatient clinic and found a seminal textbook that drew her in.
- She upskilled with postgraduate courses, worked at the Wellington Balance Clinic and then at a concussion clinic.
Use Sensory Tests To Reveal Vestibular Reliance
- Test and train sensory integration for balance by narrowing inputs: feet together, then on a soft pad, eyes closed, then head turns.
- Maggie Stacey walked Chris and Xand through the Modified Clinical Test for Sensory Integration and Balance using a foam pad and eyes-closed head turns to reveal vestibular reliance.