Why am I spinning?
By: Audra Stawicki, PT, DPT, CMP, CYI —
Sometimes, I feel dizzy in the morning when I roll over in bed or when I get out of bed; or after downward dog in yoga, or when I get my hair done at the hairdressers….
Sound familiar?
Did you know a major cause of dizziness or a spinning sensation that lasts temporarily with positional changes could be due to a treatable condition called Benign Paroxysmal Positional Vertigo abbreviated BPPV.
Fancy term, however this condition is easily treatable by a Physical Therapist through a series of re-positioning maneuvers.
So what is going on?
As we age, calcium crystals in our inner ear tend to enlarge, break down and move about in our semi-circular canals (fluid filled canals in our inner ear), causing a sense of spinning when we move our head, this spinning is usually brief, lasting 10 to 60 seconds but can be intense and very disturbing to someone who is afflicted, causing them to fear certain movements or even worse, making them miss their regular yoga session…bummer….
Good news . . .
Rehab Concepts has Physical Therapists that specialize in Vestibular Therapy for BPPV. The treatment consists of a comprehensive evaluation in order to identify which canal(s) are affected and treatment is performed from findings of the evaluation. Through a series of Repositioning Maneuvers called Canalith Repositioning Maneuvers the crystals can be returned to their rightful origin. Many times, one treatment is all that is needed.