Did you know that physical therapy is an effective treatment for balance / dizziness problems and other vestibular issues? Petersen Physical Therapy offers vestibular physical therapy near Mesa, Tempe, and Maricopa.
Conditions that respond well to vestibular physical therapy:
- Benign paroxysmal positional vertigo (BPPV)
- Vestibular neuritis (inflammation of the vestibular nerve)
- Meniere’s disease (inner ear disorder causing vertigo, hearing loss, and ringing in the ears)
- Labyrinthitis (inflammation of the inner ear structures)
- Vestibular migraine (migraine headache accompanied by vestibular symptoms)
- Unilateral or bilateral vestibular hypofunction (reduced function of the vestibular system)
- Motion sensitivity or intolerance
- Balance deficits and gait disturbances related to vestibular dysfunction
- Central vestibular disorders (related to the brainstem or cerebellum)
- Concussion or traumatic brain injury affecting vestibular function
What is vertigo?
If you’ve experienced dizziness (vertigo), you know it! It can be alarming and come on suddenly. Vertigo is short for benign paroxysmal positional vertigo (BPPV). Vertigo is the sensation of movement when there is none, or an incorrect sensation of movement.
Patients often describe the sensation of horizonal spinning. It is caused by a mismatch of inputs between the vestibular system, the balance centers in the brain, and the proprioceptive (balance) centers throughout the body.
Symptoms of BPPV
- Nausea
- Vomiting
- Sudden eye movements
- Headache
- Sweating
- Ringing in the ears
Vertigo is one cause of dizziness, and the most frequent reason a physical therapist would treat dizziness. It can cause a spinning sensation, as well as severe nausea. Vertigo, or BPPV, is usually positional and can last short for durations like 10-20 seconds, or can occur much longer.
A physical therapist is trained to understand and find the location and severity of the vertigo, ensuring successful treatment. Our therapists use a noninvasive approach of customized exercises and repositioning maneuvers that can aid in recovery.
What is vestibular physical therapy?
Vestibular rehabilitation therapy is one of the most effective ways to treat vertigo. The vestibular system, within the inner ear, is responsible for regulating our balance. It constantly sends information to our balance centers regarding the positioning of our body.
Vestibular dysfunction occurs when the fluid housed within this system sends incorrect inputs to the brain, and we get the sudden feeling of movement or spinning, affecting your quality of life and leading to a loss of balance. Vestibular rehabilitation is the answer to this unpleasant problem.
Using various movements of the head, neck, eyes, and body, our physical therapists will develop a personalized treatment plan to help retrain the vestibular system to function properly.
Most of the time, people do not think of having a physical therapist examine and treat the problem. However, physical therapists are trained in diagnosing and treating these various disorders that include vertigo.
Many times medications can help lower the severity, but they don’t totally address the problem. This is because specific vestibular exercises and head movements need to be performed by a physical therapist.
Seek vestibular physical therapy for vertigo today
Using cutting-edge non-invasive techniques, our trained therapists will be able to distinguish the difference between vertigo and other issues that could be causing your dizziness.
A therapist will catch any other diagnoses that need to be made, which is very important, since sometimes the issues are more serious and require a referral to a neurological specialist. If you need vertigo therapy, they will be able to assess that as well.
We offer vestibular therapy in all of our physical therapy clinics:
If you or a loved one is suffering from vertigo or dizziness/balance disorders, give us a call! We are happy to answer your questions or have you come in for an evaluation to begin to address the problem.
