If you have vertigo, you understand the difficulty of completing even the simplest tasks. Driving, working, cleaning the house, mowing the lawn or just being active can seem like daunting tasks. You may even fear injuries from falling. Did you know that physical therapy can help you manage and overcome vertigo? This is what you should know.
Overcoming Dizziness Challenges
Your physical therapist will go over things you can do at home to manage your symptoms. This is important initially because it can take time to fully overcome your vertigo. You will learn how to move more slowly. Slow movements are especially important when you sit up, stand or turn your head. Your therapist will help you figure out the movements that trigger your dizziness and help you learn to do them more slowly.
At physical therapy Ahwatukee, you will learn physical movements to reduce the onset of dizzy spells, such as squatting rather than bending over to pick things up. Your therapist may also get you fitted and teach you how to use assistive devices, such as a walking stick or cane.
You may also spend time in the dark when you begin to feel your head spinning, especially if a headache accompanies your dizziness. Eliminating noise and light can calm this sensation. Also, if you feel dizzy, sit down immediately to prevent falling. Finally, consider sleeping in a somewhat elevated position, so your head is higher than the rest of your body. You can do this with multiple pillows or a wedge pillow.
Vertigo Victory Strategies
The good news is that physical therapy may actually help you eliminate your vertigo. Techniques like vestibular rehabilitation can retrain your brain. This technique strengthens your vestibular system so you understand what stimulates your dizziness and counteract it. This strategy is often used for those who have injured their brains and heads, have lesions on their central nervous system or whose vertigo causes are unknown.
A physical therapist also gives you exercises that strengthen your core, improve your balance, increase flexibility and improve your heart health and circulation. They can also teach you specialized movements for your head and neck. You will learn how to better focus your eyes.
Some vertigo is the result of the calcium carbonate crystals in your inner ears. When these crystals become dislodged or move from their positions (BPPV), they can cause dizziness. A physical therapist can teach you how to get them back into position.
Vertigo Education
One of the most important benefits you receive in physical therapy is understanding the cause of your vertigo and the things that can make it worse. For example, fatigue can increase or cause a relapse of your symptoms. In addition, alcohol, salt, caffeine, stress, depression and anxiety are all vertigo triggers that you can manage. Also, your therapist will give you exercises and strategies to try at home. This allows you to support your therapies in the office.
As you learn more about vertigo, consider investigating Arrowhead Physical Therapy and how it can help you manage and even overcome your symptoms.