Benign Paroxysmal Positional Vertigo: How Physical Therapy Can Help!
Benign Paroxysmal Positional Vertigo (BPPV) is the most common cause of vertigo – a sensation that causes people to feel that they are spinning or the world around them is spinning. Usually the spinning will be triggered by certain head positions or movements of the head and neck. While BPPV is not in itself considered a severe health condition, it can affect a person’s quality of life and produce risk for falls leading to more serious injury.
The Vestibular System
Vertigo is typically caused by a dysfunction within the vestibular system. The vestibular system is within our inner ear and is a network of canals that are filled with fluid as well as bio-crystals called otoconia. As we move our head in space, the fluid and otoconia move and stimulate certain signals to be sent to our brain for processing.
What Happens in BPPV?
When BPPV occurs, there are otoconia that have gotten loose from their normal position within the inner ear. Typically the loose crystals will float to a specific canal within the ear due to gravitational forces. At rest, the loose crystals will not cause symptoms. With head movement, the otoconia that are out of place will send false signals to the brain about the head’s position. These abnormal nerve signals cause dizziness/vertigo.
Why Does BPPV Occur?
In many people, there is not necessarily any specific cause or event that causes BPPV. However, there may be certain risk factors including:
– Age (most common in those 50 years and older)
– Recent head trauma
– Keeping head in a certain position for a long period of time (ex: dentist chair) – High intensity exercise or activity with jumping, pounding, etc.
– Other inner ear disease
How PT Can Help BPPV
A physical therapist can potentially help to treat BPPV by performing positional maneuvers to confirm the presence of BPPV. If you test positive with those maneuvers, your physical therapist
would then proceed to treat the BPPV by instructing you to move your head in a specific manner in order to promote the loose crystals to return to their normal position. Following the treatment of BPPV, your physical therapist may provide you with certain exercises, stretches, or instruct you to avoid certain movements for a short period of time in order to decrease likelihood of BPPV immediately returning.
Do you think you have BPPV? Contact ProTailored Physical Therapy today to get assessed by one of our Fort Wayne physical therapists at 260-739-0300!
References:
https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/health/conditions-and-diseases/benign-paroxysmal-positional vertigo-bppv