Is Your World Spinning?

Are you experiencing dizziness, nausea, difficulty concentrating or visual focusing? Do your symptoms worsen when you move into certain positions? Does this ever affect your balance? If you’re suffering from any of these symptoms, you may be experiencing Benign Paroxysmal Positional Vertigo (BPPV). We know this is no small feat; being dizzy from day to day can be draining. This is because your body is constantly trying to compensate for the miscommunication between what your inner ear is perceiving and what the rest of your body is perceiving.

To explain further, there are small canals in your inner ear telling your brain when you are standing up, lying down, or changing directions. When you have BPPV, a very tiny crystal gets dislodged and affects how the canals tell you what position you are in. For example, when the crystal is dislodged and you are sitting up, it may be telling your brain that you are lying down; causing you to become dizzy.

Can it be treated? Yes. Full Potential is highly trained in the treatment of BPPV. It can be treated with repositioning maneuvers that help guide the inner ear crystal back into the correct position. Usually, there is a noticeable difference right away and resolution within just a few treatments!

Curious about what a BPPV Evaluation may look like? Below is an overview of what a BPPV evaluation may consist of. Please be aware that we specialize in individualized care, your condition may need more or less treatment than what is described below.

Depending on the severance of your vertigo, your physical therapist may conduct a number of assessments to decipher if your symptoms are truly BPPV (indicating an inner ear crystal is out of position).  Pictured is one assessment that may be given; Tami was asked to follow William Johnson’s (licensed Physical Therapist) finger with her eyes only.

Once evaluated, and if BPPV is found to be the root of your symptoms, your physical therapist will guide you into specific positions. The goal of these positional maneuvers is to guide the is to relocate the crystal that has been dislodged into the correct position.

After the positional manuever, you will sit up, helping the crystal move back into it’s place. Your Physical Therapist will be guiding you through each step, making sure your symptoms have resided before going into the next position.repositionable

Your PT will then guide you into the next position, the goal of this is to, again, help the crystal move into it’s correct position. After these steps, there usually is noticeable relief of your symptoms. Each of these steps should only be performed by a trained Physical Therapist.

Are you experiencing dizziness, nausea, difficulty concentrating or visual focusing? You may be suffering from positional vertigo! 

Get relief call us today to schedule an appointment! You don’t want to wait… BPPV can worsen if not properly treated.