Vestibular Physiotherapy
Vestibular PhysiotherapyVestibular physiotherapy can help rebalance your vestibular system, and the mechanism of rebalancing is really quite interesting. Your vestibular system is actually five sensory organs that provide your brain with information needed regarding balance, ie how your head is moving and how it relates to gravity during movement, and when not moving as well. These five sensory organs are three semicircular canals and two otoliths (the utricle and the saccule), located in your inner ear.
What is vestibular system dysfunction?
When your vestibular system doesn’t work the way it was intended to, a variety of different issues can arise. At Yellow Gazebo, we can often help with any of the following concerns:
- vertigo
- dizziness
- benign paroxysmal positional vertigo (BPPV)
- labyrinthitis
- Meneir’s Disease
- persistent postural-perceptual dizziness (PPPD)
- vestibular migraines
- post-concussion syndrome
- and more!
What does a vestibular physiotherapy session look like?
In your initial visit for vestibular physiotherapy, we will do a thorough assessment of your concerns to make sure that non-vestibular causes are ruled out. Once the true cause of your symptoms has been established the appropriate physiotherapy treatment can be applied at the clinic, and you will be shown exercises you can do at home to help facilitate healing.
Typical courses of treatment can resolve issues in two to three treatments, whereas more complicated concerns may involve more sessions. Some more complicated concerns may require the involvement of a second therapy such as acupuncture, or may necessitate pharmaceutical intervention. Your vestibular physiotherapist will know when to recommend these additional forms of therapy.
What is the Epley manoeuvre?
The Epley manoeuvre is a repositioning manoeuvre used to treat benign paroxysmal positional vertigo (BPPV), which is commonly seen in clinic. Because not all types of BPPV can be resolved using the Epley manoeuvre, and because the manoeuvre can potentially cause further disruption of your vestibular system, we recommend only seeing a qualified vestibular physiotherapist to determine if the manoeuvre is appropriate, and to perform it correctly.
Does insurance cover vestibular physiotherapy?
Because vestibular physiotherapy at Yellow Gazebo is performed by a registered physiotherapist, your insurance is billed as it would normally be for a physiotherapy treatment. Please see our page on direct billing for information on this program.
What else should you know?
As with most therapies at Yellow Gazebo, please come 15 minutes early to your treatment to make sure that you get the entire treatment time allotted to your session, and to ensure that you are relaxed and in the best state to maximize the efficacy of your session. Also, please refrain from smoking before your appointment as cigarettes constrict blood vessels and can make your treatment less effective. Finally, please make sure you are taking all of your prescribed medications, even the day of your vestibular physiotherapy treatment.
Meet Amy Gildner, our vestibular physiotherapist.
