Vertigo: Treatable with Physical Therapy!

Many people are used to thinking about physical therapy when it comes to a short term injury at the gym or a car accident. Maybe they even associate physical therapy with helping a loved one recover from a stroke or long term disability. But there are several common issues that can benefit from physical therapy – and vertigo is one of them! This is a relatively new therapy with exciting possibilities.

Vertigo generally refers to the loss of balance or the sensation of motion. It is a very subjective problem, since no one can really feel (or observe) the effects of vertigo besides the person suffering from it. However, vertigo can be quite debilitating and sometimes an initial doctor’s visit is unsatisfactory in terms of treatment. Sometimes severe cold infections or head trauma can create vertigo, damaging the inner ear. Not only does one suffer a loss of balance, but severe vertigo can cause nausea and vomiting, and be so debilitating and unpredictable that common tasks like driving a vehicle are no longer possible.

This is where physical therapy can make all the difference. In those instances, physical therapy can help retrain the brain so that the spinning sensations – which for chronic sufferers can sometimes last for days – are brought under control. Just like a muscle can be retrained, so can the brain. Exercises that are designed to help the brain relearn its sense of balance are a key part of the therapy – and so are finding a therapist you can trust.

Because the exercises may initially make you feel that vertigo is getting worse, you need to rely heavily on your therapist and trust they are specially trained and capable of helping you retrain your sense of balance through eye and head rotations, moving exercises and more. The future offers many great possibilities for therapy and the treatment of vertigo.