Dizziness, Balance and Vertigo: How Your Physiotherapist Can Help You
Many people take balance for granted until they start to have problems with it. Balance helps us move throughout the world safely, carefully, and accurately. Losing your equilibrium, becoming dizzy, or experiencing vertigo can cause major problems in your daily life. Luckily, there are ways to manage and improve these conditions. Physiotherapy treatments can help you improve your mobility, regain your balance, and feel like yourself again. Explore this expert guide to discover the ways Enrich Physio can help you treat dizziness, balance and vertigo.
What Is Dizziness?
Dizziness covers a variety of conditions, including feeling faint, uneven, woozy, or unsteady. Dizzy people might worry they’re about to fall or lose consciousness. Most people are familiar with being dizzy. You may have experienced it on roller coasters, quickly moving elevators or rocky boat rides. Children often love to make themselves dizzy by spinning around, rolling down hills, or doing flips. These temporary moments of dizziness can be fun, especially if you know to expect the sensation. Long-lasting, chronic, or recurring dizziness is another story.
People describe their dizzy spells in many different ways. People experiencing vertigo often feel like they’re spinning or that their surroundings are moving around them. Some patients describe a sense of lightheadedness, floating, or feeling like they’re about to faint. Other people feel woozy or heavy-headed. Almost everyone caught in a dizzy spell is unsteady on their feet, off balance, and feels that they could tip over at any minute.
Vertigo and dizziness symptoms can spike unpleasantly if the patient moves, stands up, or turns their head. Dizzy people can feel nauseated and, in some cases, vomit. Some people recognise specific events that trigger their dizziness, while sudden attacks take others by surprise. Many tasks like driving, using heavy equipment, cooking, or even walking can be dangerous for people living with vertigo. Unlike children’s games, adult dizziness can be a serious concern.
Causes Of Dizziness
One of the hardest parts of living with chronic dizziness is discovering what causes your symptoms. Some people, like those prone to motion sickness, get dizzy because of the environment around them. Dizziness can also be a sign of internal problems. Hunger, dehydration, rapid changes in blood pressure, allergic reactions, intoxication, heat stroke, and other conditions can all cause dizziness.
Many types of dizziness can be traced back to the inner ear. This part of your body, which is also called the vestibular ear, connects the outside of the ear with your brain.
The vestibular ear is full of delicate tubes full of fluid. These canals are lined with sensitive hairs that can detect changes in the liquid levels. When you turn your head in one direction, the fluid in your ears also moves. The small hairs register this change in position and send the information to your brain. Your brain combines signals from your inner ear with what your eyes see to help you understand your position.
Problems with your ears mean your brain isn’t getting accurate information anymore. The resulting confusion feels disorienting or sickening. This system explains why even small movements can make dizziness more intense. Your brain can’t interpret the movement, and ultimately, you feel even dizzier after changing positions.
Dealing With Dizziness
Unexplained or recurring dizzy spells can be confusing, frightening, and even dangerous. Vertigo and loss of balance are some of the most common reasons why adults get medical treatment. Balance helps you manage your normal routine and live your life to the fullest. You deserve to get help if you’re struggling with balance, dizziness, or vertigo.
Some groups are more likely to struggle with dizziness and vertigo than others. Generally, older people report more dizziness than younger patients. A range of health conditions can also cause dizziness. You may experience dizziness if you have:
- Circulation or blood pressure problems
- Parkinson’s disease and other neurological conditions
- Anxiety or panic attacks
- Anemia
- Hypoglycemia
- A history of dizzy spells
Dizziness can also be caused by medication side effects, carbon monoxide poisoning, overheating, or dehydration. Many things cause vertigo, but there are also many treatments for this condition. Physiotherapy helps patients restore their relationships with their bodies. Just like you can strengthen muscles after an injury or learn to prevent falls, you can train your mind and body to overcome dizziness. Explore the following types of dizziness to learn how physiotherapy can improve each situation.
Vertigo And Other Inner Ear Problems
Vertigo is the spinning sensation we feel when our inner ear signals have gone awry. Our usual sense of balance is built on what we can see, nerve signals from our limbs, and inner ear input. Inner ear problems commonly cause vertigo, dizziness, and poor balance.
Several inner ear conditions lead to dizziness, including:
Ear Or Sinus Infections
Infections wreak havoc on your delicate inner ears. A viral infection can cause pain, swelling, inflammation, and other problems. If your ear’s vestibular nerve is infected, you might experience constant, intense vertigo. Infections can also cause hearing loss which can cause disorientation and make dizziness even worse.
Benign Paroxysmal Positional Vertigo (BPPV)
BPPV is the most common cause of vertigo and dizziness in otherwise healthy adults. BPPV episodes are short but intense feelings of spinning, moving, or falling. Sudden changes in your head’s position cause BPPV. Many people experience episodes when they turn over in bed, sit up, bend over, or simply look in a new direction.
Migraines
Migraine sufferers often experience dizziness or vertigo along with their headaches. These sensations may be triggered by light, noise, and scents. Some people experience dizziness with their migraines but other patients report feeling vertigo without any other symptoms. Migraine-related dizziness can last for hours.
Meniere’s Disease
People with this condition develop extreme amounts of inner ear fluid. This extra fluid sends incorrect signals to the brain, causing vertigo, ringing in the ears, hearing loss, and other symptoms. Dizzy spells can come on suddenly and last for hours at a time.
Vestibular Therapy
You can tackle dizziness, vertigo, and balance problems with vestibular physiotherapy. If movement makes your dizziness worse, that’s a clear sign that your vertigo is rooted in your inner ear. Vestibular therapy addresses the mismatched signals sent between your ears and your brain.
Physiotherapists use several different strategies to reduce vertigo symptoms. Every patient is different, so your treatment plan will be customised for your specific needs. However, all vestibular therapy plans are designed to improve balance, strengthen muscles throughout the body, and reduce dizziness symptoms. Patients also learn how to move in ways less likely to trigger a vestibular overreaction.
Your physio dizziness treatment plan might include the following exercises:
Habituation Exercises
Like exposure therapy, these exercises are designed to gently trigger your vertigo symptoms in a safe, controlled environment. Dizzy spells don’t feel good, so we know that habituation exercises can be unpleasant. However, just like wind sprints help athletes perform better, vertigo exposure is an effective way to retrain your brain. These exercises gradually desensitise your inner ear to your normal movements. Eventually, habituation exercises reduce the severity and frequency of dizzy spells.
Head-Eye Coordination Exercises
Eye-head coordination exercises for dizziness teach you to move your eyes and your head separately from each other. Your therapist may have you look from side to side with your eyes while holding your head steady. Without practice, this movement could cause a dizzy spell because your eyes tell your brain you’re moving when your inner ears report being still. Building your eye-head coordination normalises these movements, improving focus and decreasing dizziness symptoms.
Balance, Gait, And Movement Exercises
These exercises strengthen your vestibular system through hands-on practice. You’ll learn practical ways to improve your balance and strength while walking. Steady, confident muscles help you send the correct details about your body position to your brain. Depending on your symptoms, your treatment plan may also include fall-prevention strategies. These exercises are designed to improve your balance to avoid falling when you’re dizzy. You’ll also learn strategies to reduce injury in case you do take a tumble.
Re-Positioning Exercises
Patients living with BPPV can benefit from re-positioning exercises, which are movement techniques that avoid triggering vertigo. BPPV strikes when your head dramatically changes position. Gentle everyday movements like rolling over, looking at something above you, or sitting up can trigger BPPV. Re-positioning exercises teach you to make these movements without triggering a vestibular response. This physiotherapy option helps you take control of your daily life without risking as many vertigo events.
Moving Past Dizziness, Vertigo And Balance Problems
Dizziness is an important symptom that you shouldn’t ignore. Your sense of balance helps you stay healthy, active, and mobile throughout your life. If you’re struggling with dizzy spells, vertigo, or loss of balance, you can regain control of your life. Vestibular physiotherapy offers safe, proven, non-invasive treatments for a range of balance issues.
Our team is ready to help you recover. Click below to book an appointment with Enrich Physio and leave dizziness in the past.