How sports physical therapy at Alkeme Sports Rx can treat your vertigo
Do you find yourself feeling dizzy throughout the day? Is it hard to balance when standing and walking? When you have vertigo, achieving daily tasks and participating in sports or physical activities becomes difficult. Fortunately, our Alkeme Sports Rx sports therapists can help!
Vertigo and dizziness are common symptoms following a concussion or mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI). Vertigo causes a “spinning” sensation, resulting in balance problems, nausea, and vision errors.
Vertigo and dizziness can affect your athletic performance, focus, and physical well-being. While these symptoms can be frustrating and potentially dangerous, our physical therapists at Alkeme Sports Rx know exactly how to treat and improve symptoms and get you feeling good again.
Our sports physical therapists help people manage vertigo and dizziness through results-driven exercises, manual care, and patient education. At our practice, we see patients become stronger and succeed in their recovery every day.
If you or someone you know is experiencing vertigo and dizziness, contact Alkeme Sports Rx to request an appointment with our specialists.
Vertigo and dizziness: what’s the difference?
While vertigo and dizziness go hand in hand, they are two different symptoms. Dizziness is the feeling of being unsteady and lightheaded, while vertigo describes an overall spinning sensation.
Vertigo is much less common than dizziness.
Dizziness and vertigo can occur for a variety of reasons, including
- Side effects from medication
- Traumatic brain injury
- Cervicogenic: neck pain associated with dizziness
- Limitations in the mobility of neck joints and coordination of muscles
- Benign paroxysmal positional vertigo (BPPV) (where specific head movements cause a dizziness sensation)
- Migraines (severe headaches)
- Labyrinthitis (inner ear infection)
- Vestibular neuritis (inflammation of the vestibular nerve in the inner ear, which helps to control balance)
Vertigo affects people of all ages, primarily those over 20. Many athletes experience these symptoms after a sports-related injury has occurred.
How to improve your symptoms at home
It’s essential to get proper instruction from our highly skilled therapists to ensure you know how to resolve your symptoms when you are on your own effectively.
There is strong evidence clinicians offer vestibular rehabilitation to adults with vestibular dysfunction. When the inner ear (vestibular system) is not working correctly, it will significantly affect your balance. Fortunately, physical therapy can dramatically improve symptoms and advance recovery.
In fact, it is vital to your success that you attend physical therapy while practicing these new skills at home. Depending on the cause of your vertigo, there are things you can do at home to relieve some symptoms, including the following:
- Stay diligent with your physical therapist’s “homework” or at-home exercises
- Sleep with your head slightly elevated on two or more comfortable pillows
- Avoid standing up quickly and abruptly
- Don’t bend down to pick up items – try squatting instead
- Do not overextend your neck
- Avoid rapid movement when turning your head
Your physical therapist may recommend desensitization exercises that are used to trigger mild symptoms intentionally. Learning adaptation and substitution exercises will force your brain to recalibrate your equilibrium, which helps reduce the intensity and severity of your symptoms.
How our Alkeme Sports Rx physical therapists can help
Our physical therapists understand how vertigo affects athletic performance, and our goal is to help our patients restore normal functions and diminish their symptoms.
During physical therapy at Alkeme Sports Rx, we will begin by performing a thorough examination of your balance and vestibular symptoms. During this exam, we will analyze the positioning of your head, neck mobility, visual movement, and overall balance. This helps us determine the severity of your condition and guides us toward designing a customized treatment plan that is best for you.
Another component of sports physical therapy is understanding your level of physical activity, athletic involvement, and other contributing factors so we can provide you with corrective exercises that will suit your lifestyle.
Book an appointment at Alkeme Sports Rx today!
Together, you and your licensed therapists at Alkeme Sports Rx will work on improving your symptoms with a series of effective and powerful exercises. Your mobility, balance, and coordination will all be restored throughout our advanced and efficient recovery.
Don’t wait to start feeling better – be proactive and contact us at Alkeme Sports Rx today to book your first appointment!
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