What can PT do for my dizziness?
I always tell my patients that our balance is controlled by 3 things. What we see with our eyes, what our inner ear senses through motion and what our body feels, usually through our legs and feet. The signals from these three areas are sent to the brain to process them.
If they all send the same signal, everything is good.
If they don’t, we’re due for an “error signal.” We may experience dizziness, vertigo, headache, nausea, inner ear pressure, unsteady feelings, etc.
There is an aspect of physical therapy treatment called “Vestibular Therapy” that helps people who have issues with any of the above symptoms and more.
Some people are more prone to dizziness due to a history of inner ear issues, eye issues or just an “under functioning” vestibular symptom. The people who get motion sick easily or can’t handle roller coasters usually fall into this category.
Some people end up needing Vestibular Therapy after an episode of vertigo – sometimes attributed to BPPV (benign paroxysmal positional vertigo), after a concussion or after certain kinds of stroke.
The feeling of being unbalanced and dizzy can be very scary, severely limiting and life changing. A PT can help to screen the symptoms to help guide you to the right treatment.
In therapy, that can include certain head positioning to fix the inner ear alignment, eye exercises to get everything coordinated and then balance and functional training to get you back to doing everything you need to in your daily life.
PPPTC offers a free PT consultation for up to 15 minutes to see if we can help you feel better! Schedule today!
Practically yours,
Dr. Mo
