Vertigo is characterized by a spinning sensation or the feeling that your surroundings are moving even when they are perfectly still. Dizziness and Vertigo is rarely a condition on its own, rather almost always a symptom of some underlying condition. Vertigo symptoms usually go away on their own in most cases, although the patient may require some expert care & vertigo treatment exercises. Vertigo can quickly become irritating to deal with, & cause issues with the patient’s everyday activities.
Thanks to certain exercises for Vertigo, absolute vertigo treatment is now a reality for many Vertigo patients. Based on your exact vertigo diagnosis received from the doctor, certain exercises for Vertigo, vertigo treatment therapies, & vertigo medicines will be recommended to you. In some cases, vertigo home remedies & other dizziness treatment procedures are also recommended to vertigo patients.
To understand these exercises for Vertigo in a better way, we first need to understand the types of vertigo, & the vertigo treatment that is recommended for each of them.
Vertigo is of two types:
Peripheral Vertigo; which is caused by a problem in the inner ear or the vestibular nerve, which is responsible for carrying balance information between the brain & the ear. Almost 93% of all people with vertigo experience peripheral vertigo. Benign Paroxysmal Positional Vertigo (BPPV) is the most common type of peripheral vertigo experienced by people with peripheral vertigo. Peripheral Vertigo can be caused by an ear infection, a head injury, or a trauma, & may also be caused by a congenital defect in the inner ear structure. Infections like Meniere’s Disease, Vestibular Neuritis, or labyrinthitis can lead to vertigo symptoms in patients.
Central Vertigo; It’s Central Vertigo is caused by a problem with the brain, which affects how it receives & responds to the balance signals from the inner ear.
Central Vertigo causes are usually unknown, & this type of vertigo often seems to last longer than the other types of vertigo.
Vertigo symptoms:
Patients present with a variety of symptoms including, but not limited to:
- Spinning
- Swaying in one direction
- Tilting in one direction
- Headaches of migraine intensity
- Nausea
- Vomiting
- Motion sickness
- Dizziness
- Ringing in the ears(tinnitus)
- Hearing loss
These symptoms usually occur in conjunction with others, & may come & go in intervals. They can be triggered by changes in the position of the head, or by certain movements.
Vertigo treatment:
Depending on what’s causing your Vertigo symptoms, your doctor will specify a particular vertigo treatment regimen. Your vertigo treatment may include exercises for vertigo, vertigo medicines, vertigo home remedies, & vertigo management therapies for chronic vertigo.
Certain well-known Vertigo exercises help treat Benign Paroxysmal Positional Vertigo(BPPV) which is a form of peripheral vertigo. These exercises for vertigo help treat the patient’s symptoms by moving the calcium crystals from the semicircular canals inside the ears to their original position.
These exercises for Vertigo are specified by a vertigo specialist, & should be done at certain times in a day for effective results.
The exercises for Vertigo include:
Brandt-Daroff exercises:
Brandt-Daroff exercises utilize gravity to help dislodge the calcium crystals from the semicircular canal to their original position in the middle ear.
To perform the Brandt-Daroff exercises, follow the below-mentioned steps:
- Sit on a bed with your feet touching the floor. Next, turn your head 45 degrees to the right.
- Lie down on your left without moving your head. Wait 30 seconds to let any dizziness pass. If you do not experience dizziness, wait another 30 seconds before returning to the original position.
- Return to the original starting position & pause for about 30 seconds.
- Next, turn your head 45 degrees to the left, & repeat the above steps in the right direction.
- Return to the original starting position & pause for about 30 seconds.
- Perform these exercises in a set of 5 on each side.
Wait for any dizziness to pass before standing up. You should ideally perform one set in the morning & another set in the night, performing the exercises every day for at least 2 weeks. When done with other vertigo treatment methods & procedures, the Brandt-Daroff exercises seem to give good results within the specified amount of time.
Semont Maneuver:
The Semont Maneuver, also known as the liberatory maneuver, is another exercise for Vertigo that helps relieve the patients of their vertigo symptoms. It’s slightly easier to perform than the Brandt-Daroff exercises, but it is best performed under the supervision of a trained vertigo specialist. To perform the Semont Maneuver for left-ear BPPV, follow the instructions below:
- Sit on the edge of a bed in an upright position & turn your head 45 degrees to the right.
- Quickly drop on to the left side until your head is lying on the bed. Hold this position for 1 minute.
- Next, quickly move your body to the right side in just one simple movement, without changing the angle of the head. Note carefully that in this position, you should be facing the floor.
- Hold this position for 1 minute, & then quickly return to the starting position.
In case you have right-ear BPPV, turn your head to the left first & drop to the right.
Sit still for at least 10 minutes after performing this exercise for vertigo, & repeat once a day until your symptoms have shown signs of improvement.
Epley Maneuver:
The Epley Maneuver is by far the most popular exercise for Vertigo treatment. this is recommended as the first line of treatment to almost every other BPPV patient, with monumental success rates in vertigo treatment. The original version of this exercise required the supervision of a vertigo expert. However, the modified Epley Maneuver can be done by yourself at home, too.
To perform the Epley Maneuver for left-ear BPPV, follow the below-mentioned steps:
- Sit on the bed in an upright position, with your legs straight ahead & a pillow behind you.
- Turn your head 45 degrees in the left direction.
- Now lie back quickly until your shoulders are on the pillow, & wait for any dizziness to subside, for at least 30 seconds.
- Turn your head 90 degrees in the right direction without lifting it, & hold this position for at least 30 seconds.
- Now turn your body until you’re lying on your right side, & wait at least 30 seconds for any dizziness to pass.
- Now sit on the right edge of the bed in an upright position.
You should always sit in an upright position for at least 15 minutes after performing the Epley Maneuver. Repeat the exercises once every day until you don’t feel any symptoms for at least 24 hours.
All these exercises for Vertigo should be done alongside vertigo medicines & other Vertigo home remedies for effective & long-lasting vertigo treatment.