Dizzyness

Vestibular Rehabilitation Therapy for Dizziness

People describe symptoms including dizziness, feeling off balance, having a “fuzzy” head, feeling nauseous or panicky. These symptoms come from an imbalance between the inner ear, the eyes and the brain and can be persistent and unpleasant

What Is It?

Inner ear disturbances can show themselves in many ways. Most people describe sensations such as dizziness, feeling off balance, having a “fuzzy” head, possibly feeling nauseous or panicky. All these symptoms and many more can come from unequal signals from the inner ear to the eyes and the brain.

It may have started after a severe initial attack of vertigo or labyrinthitis. Some suffer ongoing symptoms for many months, or for others, no obvious cause was ever evident.
However it starts, the symptoms are often quite unpleasant and frequently upsetting to the patient.

Who Needs It?

Most people will recover after labyrinthitis or vertigo on their own by being up and about after the initial illness has settled. For others, the abnormal sensations described above need help to disappear.

What Will The Physiotherapist Do?

The physio will talk to you about your individual problems, find out which eye, head, neck or body movements are causing you to be dizzy or off balance and explain your symptoms to you.
An individual programme of gentle exercises will be prescribed to help you recover

How does it Work?

It uses a combination of habituation, compensation and substitution to work. (In plain English the brain can redo it’s maths to equal the signals and make you feel better!)

Do I Need to See a Doctor?

Yes you do. It is most important to make sure that the symptoms that you are getting are coming from the inner ear and no-where else. If your GP is satisfied that this is the case then vestibular rehabilitation is safe and effective.

The physiotherapist will write to your GP or Consultant with her findings and treatment plan.

Positional Vertigo

This is a separate condition where granules of chalky deposits are present in the inner ear.If you have been diagnosed with this, the treatment is different and involves the physiotherapist performing the “Epley Manoeuvre”. This will be explained fully if you need the treatment.