Real Health Rehab Provides Vestibular Rehabilitation
At Real Health Rehab we have experienced doctors and support staff who help you with vertigo. Vertigo is the most common cause of severe dizziness, especially in older people. Head trauma, falls, and car accidents are common causes of vertigo for elderly people.
Vestibular Rehabilitation Therapy
BPPV often goes away on its own within several weeks or months. However, if it doesn’t or if symptoms are too bothersome, it can be effectively treated by a physical therapist with a series of movements called “Canalith repositioning.”
Canalith repositioning entails several slow and simple maneuvers used to reposition the head. The procedure aims to move particles from the fluid-filled semicircular canals of the inner ear into a tiny bag-like open area that houses one of the eolith organs in the ear where these particles are more easily reabsorbed, removing the source of vertigo.
This therapeutic procedure is generally effective after only one or two treatments. The therapist can also show the patient how to perform this repositioning procedure at home without assistance.
What is Vertigo?
Vertigo is actually a symptom, rather than a condition. It is the sensation of spinning, feeling dizzy and unbalanced. The feeling can be mild or intense and last for a few seconds or be constant and persist for days. One of the main concerns with vertigo, especially among older adults, is that the loss of balance can lead to falls that cause injuries, such as bone fractures and sprains.
What Causes Vertigo?
There are a number causes of Vertigo. The most common is benign paroxysmal positional vertigo (BPPV), a condition in which certain head movements trigger the sensation of vertigo. Other causes of vertigo include migraines, inner ear infections, cold viruses, head trauma, certain diseases such as Meniere’s disease or multiple sclerosis, and vestibular neutralities, (an inflammation of the vestibular nerve). This is a nerve in the inner ear that transmits messages to the brain to maintain balance.
BPPV affects women twice as much as men and is more prevalent in older patients, and nearly always occurs without a known cause.