Vertigo & Dizziness Pain Physical Therapy

+ What Is Vertigo?

Vertigo is a sensation of dizziness that causes a feeling that you or your surroundings are spinning, even though you are perfectly still. The imbalanced feeling created by vertigo can make accomplishing your daily activities challenging, if not impossible. Vertigo and dizziness can be chronic or temporary and affects more than four out of ten people over age forty.

+ What Causes Vertigo?

There are many reasons you may experience dizziness, such as motion sickness or side effects from a medication. Vertigo usually involves problems with the vestibular system, the parts of the inner ear that help you maintain balance. Several conditions can cause vertigo, such as:

• Benign paroxysmal positional vertigo (BPPV)
• Meniere’s disease
• Migraines
• Labyrinthitis
• Head or neck injury

+ What are the Symptoms?

People describe vertigo’s dizziness with different words, such as spinning, swaying, tilting, pulled to the side, or feeling off balance. In addition to this feeling, vertigo produces other symptoms, including:

• Nausea
• Vomiting
• Ringing in the ear
• Sweating
• Feeling faint

+ When Is Vertigo a Medical Emergency?

Although vertigo can interfere with your daily routine, it usually does not pose a serious health threat. However, if certain symptoms occur along with your dizziness, you should seek immediate medical care. These include:

• A recent head injury
• Chest pain
• Difficulty speaking
• Weakness or numbness of muscles in your legs, arms, or face
• Difficulty breathing

+ Risk Factors

Anyone can develop the symptoms of vertigo at any time. However, several factors can increase your risk, including:

• Female gender
• Diabetes
• Age
• Vitamin D deficiency
• History of migraine headaches
• Osteoporosis
• High cholesterol and triglycerides

+ How Can Physical Therapy Help?

One of the most common ways physical therapy can help address vertigo is by using vestibular rehab to address imbalances in your vestibular system. Our trained physical therapists can custom design a treatment plan after assessing your problem. Once we evaluate your symptoms, your plan may include:

• Therapeutic exercises
• Balance training
• Therapeutic activities
• Posture improvement
• Head and neck strengthening