vertigo – Ready to Advance?

Have you ever experienced severe dizziness that stopped you in your tracks? Dizziness can be the result of many different things including vestibular (inner ear), neurological (brain/spinal cord, for example, after a stroke), medical (high blood pressure, hypoglycemia), and psychogenic (anxiety, depression).

The origin of about half of all dizziness is vestibular dysfunction. Dizziness originating in the inner ear is frequently called vertigo. Vertigo is the illusion of movement of the self or the environment that most people describe as “the room is spinning.” The most common type of vertigo is called Benign Paroxysmal Positional Vertigo or BPPV and it generally means that the vertigo you experience is based on the position of your head. So if the room only spins when you lay down on your right side, for example, it’s probably BPPV. (Please see your doctor for an official diagnosis.) Continue reading “Physical Therapy and the Treatment of Vertigo: The Cure When Your World is Spinning”

What will a typical session look like?

As a physical therapist at Advance Physical Therapy, I try to make every session productive, but also predictable. My goal is to teach patients independence with managing symptoms and making some form of exercise into a daily habit to improve overall health. Each session typically starts with a warm-up tailored to a specific diagnosis. Next we move to one-on-one exercise activities and manual physical therapy techniques if needed. That is followed by pain management modalities such as electrical stimulation (often called E-Stim or TENS), ultrasound, ice, moist heat, or one of many other options. This is just a typical session, it may be different for you based on your needs and goals. I am always flexible and ready to work together WITH you to allow you to meet the goals you came in with and function at your highest possible level. Continue reading “Answers to the Top 5 Questions you CAN ask your PT”