Vertigo, Balance & Vestibular Physiotherapy in Winston Hills, Hills District
What is Vestibular Physiotherapy?
Vestibular physiotherapy is a specialised area of physiotherapy which focuses on the assessment and treatment of dizziness, vertigo and balance disorders. These conditions can stem from issues within the inner ear (vestibular system) and/or the brains processing ability.
Vertigo is a broad term that encompasses many symptoms. Common symptoms described by patients include:
- Sense that the surroundings are spinning/moving
- Nausea
- Light-headedness
- Brain fog
- Unsteadiness and stumbling
- Frequent loss of balance and/or falls
- Unable to tolerate quick head movements or environment movement
- Eyes feeling jerky and/or involuntary eye movements
It should be noted vertigo is a symptom not a diagnosis. There are many conditions that can cause vertigo. Often medications such a Stemitol, Serc and Ondanestron are prescribed to help manage the vertigo/nausea symptom. Although it may assist in reducing symptoms it is unlikely to fix the underlying condition that is causing vertigo
We’re passionate about helping people in pain to recover well and live life to the full.
How Equip Physiotherapy can help you
Common Conditions Include:
Benign Paroxysmal Positional Vertigo (BPPV)
BPPV is the most common cause of vertigo often referred to as “crystals” floating in the inner ear canals. Learn more about this condition
Vestibular Migraine
A type of migraine that causes vertigo, motion sensitivity, brain fog, unsteadiness instead of the classic headache symptom. Learn more about this condition.
Vestibular Neuritis
Viral infection of the inner ear nerve. Learn more about this here.
Menieres Disease
A disorder caused by fluid build-up in the inner ear. Learn more about this condition.
Persistent Postural Perceptual Dizziness (PPPD)
A condition that is related to processing issue marked by dizziness and commonly affected by certain postures. Learn more about PPPD here.
FAQs about Vertigo, Balance & Vestibular Physiotherapy
Equip Physiotherapy Service the following suburbs:
- Northmead
- Baulkham Hills
- Seven Hills
- Constitution Hill
- Old Toongabbie
- Toongabbie
- Bella Vista
- Norwest
- North Parramatta
- Parramatta
- North Rocks
- Westmead
Your initial consultation is a 1-hour appointment, where a certified vestibular physiotherapy will both assess, diagnose and commence treatment based on the diagnosis.
It is comprehensive assessment process. You will be asked about your symptoms, history, aggravating factors and past medical history to ensure we get a thorough understanding of your situation. A clinical assessment will also be performed which involves specific oculomotor (eye movement), vestibular and balance assessments to help with diagnosis. An effective individualised treatment program will be performed based on the diagnosis.
This will vary from person to person. The main aim of vestibular testing is for us to elicit symptoms which will allow us to make an accurate diagnosis and provide effective treatment. Normally these symptoms will ease within the next 12-48 hours.
A lot of our patients would have been prescribed medications to help with nausea and vertigo (i.e Serc, Stemitol, Ondansetron, maxolon). If you feel your symptoms are severe, you can take the medication 30-60 minutes prior to the appointment. It will not affect our testing.
If you feel like your symptoms are quite severe and you are concerned, it is best to have someone drive you to and from the appointment.
This will depend on the condition diagnosed and severity and length of your symptoms. With BPPV patients generally find significant relief within the first 1-2 sessions. Other vestibular conditions including vestibular neuritis, vestibular migraine and PPPD will often take longer (>5 sessions) but patients do generally report some symptomatic relief within those sessions.
Vertigo and balance issues is often under or misdiagnosed. It should be noted vertigo is a SYMPTOM and not diagnosis. There are specific conditions that cause vertigo. Medications such as Stemitol, Serc and Ondansetron may help in reducing vertigo related symptoms however it does nto fix the underlying condition causing the vertigo.
Often people have been living for months and years with vertigo without seeking treatment. This often decreases your quality of life and increases your falls risk. Patients often begin to avoid things that bring on their vertigo. Although this may be helpful in the short term, doing this long term is extremely detrimental, and can actually cause your symptoms to worsen in the future and take longer to treat.
No, we do not treat tinnitus. There are times/conditions where people find their tinnitus improves with vestibular physiotherapy, however we do not specifically treat tinnitus.