Balance Issues Resolved Through Physical Therapy by: Bev Kornides, PT

Did you know that the #2 reason for patient visits to the primary care physician office is the complaint of dizziness?

Are you dizzy? Lightheaded? Or even tipsy? Do you have a sense of feeling “off balance”?

Pinning down these adjectives can help your physician better diagnosis the problem as it could be related to inner ear, a specific area of your brain, medication or a recent infection that may have residual effects.

For those patients who struggle with a sense of imbalance or disequilibrium, there are simple tests to evaluate one’s level of confidence in doing activities around the house without the risk of falls.

Physical therapists trained in this type of rehab called “Vestibular Rehabilitation” can help the physician with data collection toward nailing the correct cause of the imbalance. Could it be an inner ear problem, central nervous system or other?

Most common patient type in this category are those who suffer with Benign (not life threatening) Paraxysmal (recurrent sudden intensification of symptoms) Positional (related to bodily posture) Vertigo (sensation of rotation/spinning), otherwise known as BPPV.

Repositioning maneuvers, otherwise known as canalith repositioning, are done in the physical therapist’s office and offer a very effective option. Most cases of BPPV can be healed in 1-3 sessions with 80-90% resolution of all symptoms.

During the treatment sessions the patient is educated on the rationale of the canalith repositioning technique and why it works.

Approximately 50% of individuals with BPPV can experience another episode within five years. With their knowledge and understanding of their problem they often can effectively treat themselves.

So… Do you have spinning when you position change?

Does the symptom linger less than or greater than a minute?

Are you phobic about position change?

Don’t be a victim of such a correctable disorder; contact us in the physical therapy department of MMI.