Dizziness and Vertigo

annvictor February 15, 2021 Balance Vertigo and Dizziness

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Do you sometimes feel like the Jamba Juice logo?

A fruit smoothie probably won’t help, but there’s a good chance a specially-trained Atlantis physical therapist can.

Dizziness can make you feel nauseous, light-headed, and unstable on your feet. You want to just stop and have it go away. But sometimes, it doesn’t.

If that feeling resolves in a few seconds, you likely just weren’t getting enough blood to your brain. This condition is known as orthostatic hypotension.

Benign Paroxysmal Positional Vertigo (BPPV)

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A more long-lasting type of dizziness called VERTIGO can be caused by a problem in your inner ear. One common condition is called:

Benign Paroxysmal Positional Vertigo or BPPV.

Small crystals escape from the crystal bed into a semi-circular canal causing a person to become disoriented in space. Suddenly, your body doesn’t know which end is up….down….or sideways.

When this occurs, normal activities like driving, walking or just sitting at a desk become difficult to do. You can lose your balance or feel nauseous even to the point of vomiting. Anyone suffering from this condition wants to lie down, close their eyes, and wait for this attack to go away. But if those crystals are still sitting in that canal, symptoms will continue.

How Atlantis PT Can Help with Dizziness & Vertigo

Evaluation

We perform a series of tests to determine what is causing your symptoms and exactly where the problem lies. If BPPV is the culprit, specific maneuvers are performed by our physical therapists to allow those crystals to return where they belong. One session may erase the symptoms, but additional visits are typically needed to more fully correct the problem.

Treatment

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Our physical therapists will train the patient to perform maneuvers themselves allowing prompt relief should symptoms develop during normal daily activities. Specifically designed home exercises allow the patient to perform their routine tasks and limit the possibility of reoccurrence.

Our physical therapists may find other conditions causing the dizziness other than BPPV. Treatment that includes exercises to desensitize the inner ear and other structures can improve symptom-free movement. The physical therapist can recommend to the patient’s family doctor further diagnostic work that is typically performed by an ENT (ear, nose and throat doctor).

Read Niva’s Story about how Atlantis PT helped her with her vertigo and dizziness.