Vestibular Therapy- The Best Thing Nobody Knows About
A patient we will call “Lucy” told me that dizziness had taken over her life for the last 6 months. She explained that after hospitalization, medication, and time, she had relief from her initial vertigo attack, but the terrible sensation of the room spinning whenever she laid down, rolled over, or tilted her head back continued multiple times a day.
Hearing stories like these are heart breaking knowing how this person has suffered from fear, absence of clarity or diagnosis, as well as the actual symptoms of vertigo. That said, I also love treating vertigo because, typically, I am able to help, and I am able to do so quickly. In the case of Lucy, I determined that she had Benign Paroxysmal Positional Vertigo (BPPV) and treated her for that day.
After the treatment and a short break, I retested her for BPPV to see if the symptoms had changed. We were both DELIGHTED to find that she was no longer dizzy at all and her eyes were no longer moving. This was the first time she had laid down in 6 months without feeling like she was going to fall out of bed. One month later, Lucy relayed that she was vertigo free, and was back to her former activities without fear of vertigo and spinning.
I feel so fortunate to be able to help people like Lucy resolve their problems with BPPV and vertigo. These results absolutely do not always happen in one visit, but on average they are resolved in 2-3 visits. (After treating vertigo for years I still am unable to guess which people will be symptom free after day 1 and which will take a few weeks… maybe one day I’ll learn!)
I probably say “Physical therapy for treating dizziness is the best thing nobody knows about” ten times a month, so help us spread the word! If you or a friend or relative are experiencing dizziness or spinning with lying down, turning over, bending down, or changing positions, reach out to Bespoke Physical Therapy or any physical therapist who specializes in vestibular therapy! The fix is probably easier, quicker, and less awful than you think.
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