If you have a vestibular balance disorder, you may have symptoms such as dizziness, disorientation, or blurred vision. You may experience vertigo, a sensation that the world is spinning perceptibly around you. Loss of balance could put you at risk of falling and injuring yourself. Dizziness and vertigo can cause nausea or vomiting. You may wonder, “Can going to physical therapy near me help?” Fortunately, the answer is usually yes.
Common Causes of Balance and Vestibular Issues
The vestibule refers to the entrance to your inner ear. The labyrinth of the inner ear contains several semicircular canals filled with fluid and tiny calcium crystals. As you move, the fluid in your inner ears sloshes around and stimulates nerve cells in the semicircular canals. These nerves send signals to the brain providing information that helps the brain orient the body in space.
Vestibular balance issues occur when something happens to disrupt your vestibular system. Sometimes the problem is with the fluid in the inner ear. For example, Meniere’s disease occurs when the volume of fluid in parts of the ear changes. No one really knows why this happens, but the effects can include a feeling of fullness in the ears, tinnitus (ringing in the ears), and eventual hearing loss in addition to vertigo and balance issues which will need to be treated with the best hearing aids for your specific needs.
Sometimes the problem that causes balance issues is with the calcium crystals in the ear. For example, if you have benign paroxysmal positional vertigo, it causes the crystals to move to a different position inside the ear. This can cause dizziness and balance issues when you move your head.
Sometimes the problem is with the nerves of the vestibular system. Vestibular neuritis is inflammation of these nerves, probably resulting from a viral infection. Sometimes the problem may not be with the nerves but the area of the brain that processes the information from the nerves. For this reason, you may experience vertigo and balance issues after a traumatic head injury that resulted in brain damage.
Wichita physical therapy may be effective at treating these issues. Proper treatment depends first on identifying the cause of your symptoms.
What You Can Do To Help
Fortunately, there are treatment options that can help relieve symptoms of vestibular balance issues. While your health care team is determining the cause of your symptoms, your doctor may prescribe medications that prevent vomiting and control dizziness.
Sometimes the food you eat can trigger symptoms of certain balance disorders, such as Meniere’s disease or migraines. Your health care team may recommend dietary or lifestyle changes, such as drinking more fluids and cutting back on alcohol, caffeine, or salt.
There is a lot that physical therapy Newton KS can do to help you manage vestibular balance disorders. Some are specific to a certain condition. For example, canalith repositioning involves maneuvering your head to put the calcium crystals in your inner ear back in their proper place.
Your physical therapist may use balance retraining exercises to help you compensate for vestibular issues. Rather than restoring your original balance, this method helps you compensate for a loss of balance so you can perform your normal activities. Ask your doctor to recommend a physical therapy clinic that treats balance disorders.
