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Vestibular Rehabilitation

The profession of physical therapy has the privilege of treating many different medical conditions. One medical condition that can be treated by physical therapy is Benign Paroxysmal Positional Vertigo or BPPV for short.

BPPV is a form of vertigo in which you may feel a sensation of the room spinning or even the feeling of falling. These symptoms are often brought on by changes in head position or when lying down. BPPV can occur at any age but often occurs in individuals over the age of sixty.

If diagnosed with BPPV, your physical therapist may perform a treatment technique called the Epley maneuver in which the therapist manually guides the patient’s head to specific positions.

BPPV may also affect balance and can be treated with balance exercises by a physical therapist to reduce the risk of falls and further injury. If you have any symptoms such as dizziness with head turns or when lying down, loss of balance, nausea or vomiting do not hesitate to tell your physical therapist about these symptoms.

The series of moves below is one example of a balance exercise physical therapists use to help overcome the symptoms of BPPV. When first starting out make sure you are in a safe environment. For example: performing in a corner of your house with a chair in front of you.