Vestibular Rehabilitation

Vertigo is defined as a sensation of whirling or movement that results in an error message in the central process of position, space, and time. So your brain can’t sense where you are in space causing you to feel dizzy. 20-30% of adults experience dizziness in their lifetime.

Physical therapy can evaluate and likely treat this condition when appropriate. 90% of the time this condition is caused by BPPV (Benign paroxysmal positional vertigo). BPPV is a condition that is most commonly seen with people over the age of 50. “Most often, BPPV occurs spontaneously, but it also may follow head trauma, neuritis affecting the superior vestibular nerve, or ischemia in the distribution of the anterior vestibular artery.”

What happens occurs in the inner ear and it affects the vestibular system. This system is in charge of coordinating movement with where the body is in space. Inside the inner ear are crystals (otoconia) located in the canals (semicircular canals) and may become dislodged and throw off a person’s proprioception (sense of where they are in space). If this occurs the individual can have the feeling of the room spinning around them causing nausea, light headedness, and even potentially fall over!

At Rye Physical Therapy, a full assessment can be performed to screen out what could possibly be causing your dizziness then direct you to the appropriate treatment.

Treatment will involve different maneuvers to help re-position the crystals through the canals and go back into their proper place. After your treatment, you will be instructed on proper at-home care. A majority of the time your symptoms could be resolved in this first treatment.

Could you imagine you’ve been suffering from this awful dizziness for years and in just one treatment your symptoms could be resolved or greatly reduced?

Research has shown that treatment can be 87% effective in just three treatments.

Ready to learn more? Explore our related posts below all written by our own team at Rye Physical Therapy.