Does physiotherapy help with vertigo?
Whether you’re experiencing vertigo for the first time or have been living with it for years, the symptoms can be so overwhelming that it’s hard to imagine what life would be like without them.
We have good news! There’s hope: Physiotherapy for vertigo can help patients by improving balance and posture, reducing pain, and increasing mobility with vertigo exercise regimens.
In this article, our specialists at OAK Physio & Wellness in Oakville, ON, delve deeper into the subject by showing exactly how physiotherapy can help patients with vertigo manage their symptoms.
What Is Vertigo?
Vertigo is a common dizzy-like condition that causes a sensation of spinning or rocking accompanied by a loss of balance.
Several factors can cause vertigo.
Some of these include:
- A problem with the inner ear (the vestibular system)
- Nerve damage from a head injury or stroke
- Dehydration or low blood pressure
- Migraines, anxiety attacks, and panic attacks
Benign Paroxysmal Positional Vertigo
Benign Paroxysmal Positional Vertigo, abbreviated as BPPV, is a form of vertigo commonly occurring in people over 70 years. It affects women more than men.
When small crystals inside the ear move into fluid-filled canals (known as semicircular canals), they alter the fluid flow in these canals, causing this type of vertigo.
Patients feel dizzy when they lie down, look up, bend forward, or roll over in bed and often describe the room as spinning.
How Does Physiotherapy for Vertigo Help These Patients?
Vertigo can make it difficult to stand up and walk, so it’s important to seek medical help if you are experiencing vertigo. Physiotherapy can help patients suffering from vertigo in several ways. Here are just a few.
It can help improve balance and posture
Physiotherapists work with patients to improve their balance and posture through exercises. Physio for vertigo moves ear crystals out of the canals and into their correct structure, improving balance. It also challenges the muscles, building strength and promoting better balance.
Exercises include standing on one foot while reaching out in front of you, trying to keep your eyes on a target while standing on unstable ground, or walking in a circle while holding onto something for support.
It can reduce the stress on the body that vertigo causes
Physiotherapy can reduce vertigo-induced stress and anxiety, which elevate hormones like cortisol. These hormones can impair the function of your vestibular system that controls balance. By reducing stress and anxiety, your body can focus more on healing rather than having to deal with stress on top of everything else in your life.
It can reduce pain
Physiotherapists work with patients suffering from vertigo to reduce pain caused by muscle tension or stress on the body’s joints. This type of treatment, called “manual therapy” or “soft tissue mobilization,” involves the therapist working with muscles and soft tissues in your body to reduce tension and increase flexibility.
Contact Our Dizziness and Balance Clinic to Learn More About Vertigo Physiotherapy Treatment
Is vertigo getting you down?
At OAK Physio & Wellness, we offer physiotherapy vertigo treatments as one way to help reduce dizziness and balance problems. We also offer other treatment options for vertigo, including vestibular rehabilitation therapy.
Our dizziness and balance clinic is in Oakville at Hays Boulevard, so contact us today at 289-725-0241 to schedule an appointment with one of our physiotherapists.