Silver Lake, WA -

Ninety million Americans (42 percent of the population) will complain of dizziness to their doctors at least once in their lifetime (NIH).

By age 75, dizziness and balance disorders are one of the most common reasons for seeking help from a physician.

Dizziness-vertigo is among the 25 most common reasons that Americans visit the doctor (Ambulatory Medical Care Survey, 1991).

U. S. physicians report a total of more than 5 million dizziness-vertigo visits per year.

The cost of medical care for patients with balance disorders had been estimated to exceed $1 billion per year in the United States.

The preceding statistics were taken from the VEDA (Vestibular Disorders Association) website.

The “inner ear” is a commonly used term used to describe the vestibular system.  Common symptoms which people will describe when the vestibular system is not functioning properly are dizziness, unsteadiness or imbalance, nausea and vertigo.  These symptoms can be momentary and mild or severe and quite disabling.  Because so many different systems work together to create balance, people can also experience other, related symptoms, such as headaches and neck pain, memory problems, sensitivity to noise and/or light, difficulty with reading and poor concentration. 

Testing performed to diagnose vestibular problems includes hearing based tests, tests which monitor eye movements and balance tests.  Treatments vary depending upon the diagnosis and possible treatments include medication, changes in diet, physical therapy and in severe cases, even surgery. 

Patients seen in physical therapy for vestibular rehabilitation typically come from either a family physician (PCP) or a vestibular specialist such as an ENT doctor.  Therapy can be curative-completely relieving the symptoms or compensatory-assisting the patient to use other systems more effectively to make up for permanent losses of vestibular function. 

One of the more commons reasons an individual may be referred for physical therapy is for Benign Positional Vertigo.  When present, this diagnosis can often be resolved within 3 visits over the course of 5-10 days. 

The current theory on this problem is that tiny calcium carbonate crystals become dislodged from their source and float into tiny canals where they don’t belong.  Then these little “ear rocks” send faulty information to the brain, resulting in a spinning sensation (vertigo).  There are techniques to reposition these little rocks, back where they belong, so that the brain is no longer receiving faulty information and the symptoms are abolished.

If you are experiencing symptoms of this nature, be sure to seek your doctor's input on their cause.   You wouldn’t want to suffer needlessly if your symptoms are treatable.

Questions please call
Silver Lake Physical Therapy
Teri Low-McGavin, PT
425-337-3166