When people think about physiotherapy, they typically associate it with the use of manual massage and exercise to treat illnesses. The truth, however, is that physical therapists treat staggering and feeling light-headed.
It’s important to note that not only do physios treat the symptoms of vertigo themselves, but it’s also true that many people suffer from dizziness and vertigo without realising there might be anything they can do to help make their lives normal again. Better still: there is hope for anyone who seeks it, and we’ll cover all there is to know about physio for vertigo in this blog post.
What Is Vertigo?
Vertigo is the feeling that one is spinning round and round. You can get the impression that the entire room is spinning on its axis or that everything in the picture is moving except for you. The balance-controlling vestibular system in the inner ear is one of the most frequent causes of this issue. Vertigo can be caused by several factors, such as:
- Abnormalities or infections of the inner ear
- Headaches
- Tumours, like acoustic neuroma
- Surgery that involves removing or harming the nerves or inner ear
- Traumatic brain injury that causes inner ear damage.
- The inner ear’s hole
- A stroke
You may also experience:
- Nausea.
- Vomiting.
- Sweating.
- Abnormal eye movements.
- Ringing in one or both ears.
- Unbalance causing difficulty when walking.
Of all kinds of dizziness, the most common is benign positional vertigo. BPPV is a dysfunction of the inner ear. If you move your head to certain positions, a sudden dizziness will strike for just an instant.
Visual vertigo affects certain people. Driving in traffic or strolling through store aisles can both induce and aggravate visual vertigo.
How Is It Diagnosed?
To select the best course of therapy and pinpoint the source of your vertigo, your physical therapist will ask you questions. They could enquire about things like:
- When did you initially experience vertigo or the spinning sensation?
- When you have vertigo, what are you doing? Does it occur when you roll over in bed, tilt your head, lean over, or stand motionless? Do symptoms arise when driving or walking in a crowded area?
- How much time does the dizziness last?
- Have you ever experienced vertigo?
- Do you have ringing in your ears, hearing loss, or fullness in your ears?
- Do you feel queasy when you spin?
- Have your breathing or heart rate changed at all?
Tests will be conducted by your physical therapist to identify the origins of your vertigo. They will also assess your fall risk. Your physio for vertigo could advise more testing or a visit to your doctor based on the findings.
How Can a Physo for Vertigo Help?
This treatment plan will be tailor-made to suit you according to what they learn from their assessment and discussion of your goals. The true causes of any frustrations you experience with vertigo are what ultimately should control your choice of treatment.Your physical therapist’s first objective is to help you take up work and manage your vertigo at exactly the same time. As part of your remedy, your physio for vertigo might perform or show you particular head and neck movements that are gentle. Part of it will also be exercises to assist you in getting rid of symptoms. For conditions like BPPV, there are diagnostics and therapies that are highly specialised.
Your physical therapist can address balance issues and dizziness if they persist after the vertigo subsides. They will create a plan of care for you and give you coping mechanisms for your particular symptoms.
Furthermore, a variety of physio for vertigo modalities are available for the treatment of vertigo. According to your individual requirements, the physiotherapist will develop an exercise routine that best meets your needs. It may include the following:
- exercises to strengthen your equilibrium.
- exercises that support the brain’s ability to “correct” discrepancies in the inner ears.
- exercises that help you sharpen your eyesight and eye concentration.
- activities to strengthen one’s tolerance for visually overwhelming surroundings.
In addition, your physio for vertigo might recommend ways to strengthen, stretch, and protect your heart. The aim of these exercises is to promote your general physical health and well-being.
Wrapping Up
For many people, vertigo or dizziness can be a considerable nuisance, making even simple activities in daily life something of an ordeal. But most people, however, do not realise that a physio for vertigo exists who is able to do many things to help alleviate these symptoms. Vestibular physiotherapy provides specific treatments for conditions such as Benign Paroxysmal Positional Vertigo (BPPV) to relieve suffering and help people move back into their regular lives.
With most vestibular disorders, the physical therapist will tailor a treatment program based on the underlying cause of your dizziness; often this includes exercises to improve balance and eye focus as well as tolerance for visually stimulating environments. Through physiotherapy, no matter whether your symptoms come from BPPV or another type of vestibular disorder, there can be real progress.
If you or someone you know is struggling with vertigo or dizziness, see a local physiotherapist with experience in rehab of the vestibular system. Given the right help and treatment, you can get your symptoms under control and start living again with confidence. If you are someone with vertigo, you have probably been told that it’s all in the head. But don’t let the disorder control what you do—find a physical therapist today and take steps towards returning to a calmer, more stable life