Carpentry and Woodworking - Loose bannister rail

We have a staircase-like bannister, in an "L" shape, that divides our dining area and our sunken family room. It is not part of the stair rail that goes down to the family room, but it quite often is used as one and, along with being leaned on, it has become loose at the joints enough to start splitting one of the posts. How can this be repaired before it snaps and needs replacing? If someone could even tell me how these are assembled, then I could possibly take it apart and fix it. Thanks--SAMIAM

Post a photo so we can better understand your problem.

Agreed, a pic would help. But the usual weak point in any stair rail is the newal post. If it was not properly anchored when initially built, it is difficult to make it better, later. Next would be the rail itself, which has to be securely fixed to the newal and the end point, often a wall. Then come the balusters, which are usually loosely fitted into the rail and nailed, and tightly fitted into the stairs. So you can see, there are lots of places where you could have problems.