Physiotherapy For Vertigo – Does it Help?

Physiotherapy, often regarded as a beacon of hope for those suffering from various ailments, has made significant strides in treating vertigo. This condition, characterized by dizziness and a spinning sensation, can disrupt daily life, making even the simplest tasks seem daunting. But does physiotherapy offer a real solution? 

At Proremedy Physio, we specialize in addressing vestibular disorders, including those affecting the semicircular canal, which can lead to positional vertigo and loss of balance. Our team conducts a comprehensive assessment to understand the root cause of your balance issues.

With a focus on personalized Balance Training programs, we aim to restore stability and improve the quality of life for our clients, ensuring each individual receives the targeted care they need to overcome their challenges.

What is Vertigo?

Vertigo is more than just feeling dizzy; it’s an intense sensation of spinning or movement, either of the self or the surroundings, that can lead to nausea, balance problems, and in severe cases, debilitating lifestyle changes. Its causes range from inner ear issues to more complex neurological disorders.

Common Causes of Vertigo

  • Benign Paroxysmal Positional Vertigo (BPPV)
  • Meniere’s Disease
  • Vestibular Neuritis
  • Labyrinthitis
  • Migraine-Associated Vertigo
  • Stroke or Transient Ischemic Attack (TIA)
  • Brain Tumor
  • Certain Medications
  • Age-Related Degeneration of the Inner Ear

Symptoms of Vertigo

  • Spinning Sensation: Feeling as if you or your surroundings are spinning or moving.
  • Balance Issues: Difficulty maintaining stability, leading to stumbling or the need for support.
  • Nausea and Vomiting: The intense spinning sensation often results in feeling sick and vomiting.
  • Headache: A common accompaniment to vertigo, varying from mild to severe.
  • Ringing in the Ears (Tinnitus): Often occurs alongside vertigo, especially in conditions like Meniere’s disease.

How Physiotherapy Can Help?

Physiotherapy plays a crucial role in managing and alleviating symptoms of various conditions, including those affecting mobility and balance. Through targeted exercises and personalized rehabilitation programs, physiotherapists help patients regain strength, improve flexibility, and enhance overall physical function.

Furthermore, this approach not only aids in recovery from injuries but also prevents future issues by promoting healthier movement patterns and body mechanics. For individuals experiencing pain or physical limitations, physiotherapy offers a pathway to improved well-being and quality of life, empowering them to achieve their health and fitness goals.

Types of Physiotherapy for Vertigo

  • Vestibular Rehabilitation Therapy (VRT): Tailored exercises to improve balance and reduce dizziness.
  • Canalith Repositioning Maneuvers (CRP): Specific movements to reposition ear canal particles in BPPV.
  • Balance Training: Exercises designed to stabilize and improve coordination and balance.
  • Gaze Stabilization Exercises: Techniques to manage visual focus while moving.
  • Habituation Exercises: Helps reduce the sensitivity to movement that causes vertigo symptoms.
  • Functional Training: Activities aimed at returning to daily tasks with ease, minimizing vertigo impact.

Physiotherapy Techniques for Vertigo Relief at Home

There are very many ways to be able to manage vertigo from home. Managing it could be challenging, but certain home physiotherapy practices might offer great relief. This should be approached cautiously, and if the symptoms are quite serious, then consultation with a doctor should be important.

  • Epley Maneuver: Best suitable for the cause of BPPV, the purpose of this maneuver is to attempt to replace the dislodged calcium carbonate crystals in the inner ear in the right place. If one were to sit on a bed and then tilt his head 45 degrees towards the affected side, lying back quickly and then tipping his head to change its position carefully, he would help restore the balance back.
  • Brandt-Daroff Exercises: These exercises help in your balance rehabilitation because they force the brain to accommodate signals provoked by vertigo that come from the inner ear. Sitting up, move to one side until the vertigo is gone. Sit up and move over to the other side. Regular practice of these exercises will develop a more stable sense of balance.
  • Foster Maneuver: The maneuver involves kneeling down, tilting the head to look up and down at the floor, rotation of the head towards the elbow affected, and then quickly rising back to a seated position. This is one of the most widely recognized ways of lining up the ear crystals for better balance and movements of the head.
  • Balance Exercises: Balance training is one of the most common treatments for vertigo and includes exercises that may assist in strengthening your balancing system.
  • Gaze Stabilization Exercises: Focus the attention of the patient on gaze fixation during head movement. This helps the patient to compensate for dizziness by stabilizing the gaze at those times when head movement might be expected to provoke vertigo.
  • Deep Breathing and Relaxation Techniques: Some of the symptoms of vertigo are stress-provoked; therefore, relaxation and deep breathing exercises may assist in controlling stress to reduce the possibilities of stress-provoked symptoms.

Conclusion

Physiotherapy brings a ray of hope to sufferers of vertigo, as it is a scientifically proven non-invasive way for the former to recover. Patients can then be able to approach their treatment with confidence and optimism, having known the condition and explored the mechanisms behind the physiotherapy, hearing success stories.

It could be a grand adventure towards balance and stability together, not to say the partnering of patient and therapist both standing in trust, expertise, and commitment to the ultimate good of recovery.

FAQs

  • Can physiotherapy completely cure vertigo?

Though not all causes of vertigo can be treated by physiotherapy, most of the patients definitely benefit from physiotherapy, since there is a reduction in the symptoms.

  • How long does it take to see improvements with physiotherapy for vertigo?

This usually varies from changes: one can feel relief after every single treatment in a few treatments, while the other may need an extensive treatment plan.

  • Is physiotherapy safe for all types of vertigo?

Yes, physiotherapy can be one of the safe and effective therapies for most of the vertigo conditions, but it should be individual-specific.

  • What does physiotherapy for vertigo involve?

It will also include exercises for balance and gaze stability and the repositioning of the calcium carbonate crystals within the inner ear in general.

  • Can vertigo return even after successful physiotherapy?

There is no lasting exercise or maintenance program to help manage your symptoms appropriately per the underlying cause.

Picture of Physiotherapist Arpan Hundal

Physiotherapist Arpan Hundal

Arpan has been practicing as a physiotherapist since 2010, starting her career in a trauma center in India where she worked with post-traumatic and post-operative cases. She moved to Canada and continued her independent practice, specializing in musculoskeletal, orthopaedic issues, sports injuries, and pelvic health physiotherapy. She has experience dealing with MVA and WSIB clients and has been working in the Mississauga community since 2015.

Picture of Physiotherapist Arpan Hundal

Physiotherapist Arpan Hundal

Arpan has been practicing as a physiotherapist since 2010, starting her career in a trauma center in India where she worked with post-traumatic and post-operative cases. She moved to Canada and continued her independent practice, specializing in musculoskeletal, orthopaedic issues, sports injuries, and pelvic health physiotherapy. She has experience dealing with MVA and WSIB clients and has been working in the Mississauga community since 2015.