Millions of Americans are affected by regular or infrequent bouts of dizziness, and this can prove dangerous if you’re behind the wheel of a car or if it results in a fall. Many patients bring up these dizzy spells to their family physician, but a lot of people are unaware that they have another outlet to care for their condition – a physical therapist.
At OrthoRehab Specialists, one of our many specialities is vestibular rehabilitation. This is an exercise-based program that is designed to help restore your inner ear region, the area that controls balance and dizziness, to normal function. Below, we take a closer look at who could benefit from our vestibular rehabilitation program.
Vestibular Rehabilitation Benefits
Most people associate balance issues with individuals over the age of 70. It’s true that age is a significant factor in the likelihood of suffering from dizziness or balance issues, but it’s far from the only reason. People can develop dizziness or balance disorders from things like:
- Ear infections
- Concussions
- Neck dysfunction
- Medication side effects
- As a result of stroke or traumatic brain injury
- Migraines
During your vestibular rehabilitation appointment, your physical therapist will review your medical history, ask about your symptoms and have you perform some simple physical tests in order to determine a baseline assessment and see how certain actions affect your balance. These tests will examine your balance, but they’ll also help to evaluate other relevant factors like gait, flexibility, visual stability, neck mobility and spatial awareness.
From there, your therapist will help you develop a care plan for treating your dizziness and balance issues. Oftentimes this involves a home routine and a few follow ups to check for improvement, and many patients see success very early on in the treatment process. It’s amazing how simple stretches and exercises can help your inner ear regain normal function and in turn correct the balance and dizziness issues that have been causing you problems.
So if you’re bothered by dizzy spells, don’t just ignore them and hope they’ll go away on their own. Correcting balance issues is oftentimes quite simple when addressed with the help of a certified physical therapist that specializes in vestibular therapy, and we have many such individuals on our staff. To learn more about how we can help with your dizziness, reach out to OrthoRehab Specialists today.
PT of Costa Rican National Soccer Team for 2007 World Cup in Victoria, CAN. Clinical Instructor for University of Minnesota Doctor of Physical Therapy Affiliations
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