Dizziness and Vertigo

What It Is
Neuritis happens when a viral infection attacks an important nerve in our ear. That nerve is responsible for transmitting hearing and balance from our inner ear to our brain.

This condition is usually experienced as a strong spinning sensation (vertigo) for several days.

Neuritis often causes strong nausea, vomiting, imbalance, and falls. Once the initial infection has settled, patients are often left with imbalance and dizziness.

How Physiotherapy Can Help
Your Physiotherapists will identify the head, eye, and body movements that are impaired. They will create a treatment program to regain your sense of balance.

This can often take 3-6 months, but most patients experience a full functional recovery!

What It Is
Cervicogenic dizziness literally means dizziness coming from the neck. The joints and muscles in your neck are constantly sending information to your brain about head position and posture.

When joints or muscles are stiff or injured, the information they send to your brain can be incorrect. When this happens, the brain is receiving mixed information from your eyes and inner ear. This can create a sensation of dizziness. 

How Physiotherapy Can Help
Treatment for cervicogenic dizziness involves identifying the source of your dizziness. Manual therapy improves mobility, and corrective exercise improves strength in your neck and upper back.

Cervicogenic dizziness can be very easily treated with physiotherapy and patients often improve quickly. 

Vestibular hypofunction is a general diagnosis that means your inner ear isn’t functioning normally. We have a vestibular system in each ear that work together to keep us balanced

When one of them isn’t working it is called unilateral vestibular hypofunction.

When both aren’t working it’s called a bilateral vestibular hypofunction.

This can lead to dizziness, imbalance, falling to one side, bumping into walls. As well as difficulty keeping your vision focused during head movements.

How Physiotherapy Can Help

Click here to learn about Vestibular Rehab Therapy.

Meniere’s disease is an inner ear condition that results when fluid pressure builds up.

This will cause strong vertigo, fullness or pressure in the ear, tinnitus, and hearing loss.

Although Meniere’s can’t be cured by vestibular therapy, an exercise program can help to “recalibrate” your balance system after an attack.