You’re walking the dog and you suddenly feel woozy and unbalanced. You’re playing with your grandkids and the room starts to spin. Both of these scenarios are possible if you’re dealing with vertigo. 

Vertigo is the sensation that the room is spinning around you. It’s often combined with dizziness, which is a feeling of lightheadedness or being unbalanced. Vertigo is a more common issue than most people realize. Studies report that more than 20% of adults experience vertigo and dizziness annually, and older adults are more likely to experience these issues. A physical therapist can help you if you’re wondering what to do about vertigo. 

What can you do about vertigo and loss of balance? Try vestibular therapy

Our experienced vestibular physical therapists can help you with your vertigo. They can do so by creating a personalized vestibular therapy plan to fit your needs. 

Such a plan will involve an assessment of your condition. It can also include tests to help the therapist learn what triggers your vertigo. With this information, your specialist can build you a vestibular therapy program that may include: 

• Therapeutic balance exercises — Balance exercises can be useful in several ways. A French medical study reveals some of the ways they can help. One point this study reveals is that balance exercises reduced falls that cause injuries by 37%. The exercise program also decreased the number of falls leading to broken bones by 61%. 

• Habituation exercises —These exercises are used to decrease the body’s response to specific triggers to the dizziness. 

• Gaze stabilization — This technique involves doing exercises to control the abnormal eye movements caused by vertigo. A study on gaze stabilization (GS) for vertigo reports that it can be very effective. The study reveals that 90% of the patients who had GS had a significant improvement in fall risk. 

Franklin Rehabilitation can help you figure out what to do about vertigo and loss of balance

Not sure what to do about vertigo or who can help you treat it? Our therapy specialists at Franklin Rehabilitation are primed to assist you. We offer complimentary screenings designed to reveal the cause of your vertigo and dizziness. Our team is also experienced at building vestibular therapy plans that are individualized to each patient. 

Contact our team today for more vestibular therapy information or to schedule your initial appointment.