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”