Dizziness Treatment Idaho Falls

If you often suffer from dizziness, you know how frustrating and bothersome it can be. Dizziness makes it difficult to focus and carry on with daily tasks. The disorientation it brings can make you feel out of control, weak, and anxious for what it could lead to. Fortunately, you don’t have to continue feeling this way. There are a plethora of treatments that can eliminate dizziness and get you back to fully focused and functioning. This page will look at potential causes of dizziness, treatment options best suited for the cause, and what Pick PT Idaho Falls can do to help you get back to a clear, dizzy-free life.

Potential Causes of Dizziness 

There can be many different causes of dizziness, depending on your body’s regulation, specific situations, and/or possible medical conditions you may have. The following could cause dizziness:

• Motion Sickness: Depending on the individual, riding in a car for long periods or going on a roller coaster can cause dizziness. This occurs when there are conflicting signals sent to the brain when your eyes and ears sensor different things. 
• Medication: Some medicines will have a side effect of dizziness. This condition is usually short-lived and can be easily stopped by discontinuing taking the medication.
• Low Blood Pressure: Also known as hypotension, this condition can cause dizziness and lightheadedness from the brain not receiving enough oxygenated blood. 
• Dehydration: This goes hand in hand with low blood pressure. Not drinking enough water can prohibit blood and nutrients from circulating to the brain. 
• Ear Infection: Since dizziness is correlated between the brain, eyes, and ears, an ear infection can throw off the balance of sensors from the ear to the brain. The inflammation of the ear can cause ringing and dizziness.
• Vertigo: This disorder in and of itself is a dizziness disorder. It consists of episodes of feeling like the head is spinning. This usually occurs when there are issues in your inner ear.
• Concussions: When you suffer from a concussion, the vestibular system that controls your balance is disrupted. Much like motion sickness, the eyes and ears are sending conflicting signals to the brain.
• Anxiety: The breathing patterns associated with stress and anxiety cause an imbalance of carbon monoxide and oxygen levels, making you feel lightheaded. 
• Anemia: Anemia, or iron deficiency, means you do not have a sufficient amount of red blood cells. This prevents nutrient-rich oxygen from getting to the brain.
• Light Sensitivity: If you are looking at a lit-up computer screen for long periods or experience migraines, light can hurt your eyes and cause a feeling of dizziness if prolonged. 

Most of these causes directly affect the vestibular system, which controls your body and brain’s balance. The treatments in the next section will aim to restore proper functioning to this system to help get rid of dizziness.

Treatment Options

If your dizziness is associated with things such as light sensitivity, dehydration, or mild motion sickness, it can be easily treated and go away relatively quickly. However, if you suffer from a lifelong condition, you may need ongoing treatment to help you achieve that quality of life you want. 

At-Home Remedies 

Here are some simple ways to help with mild dizziness:

• Drink an efficient amount of water and fluids to make sure your brain gets blood nutrient oxygen. A good rule of thumb is to drink half your body weight in ounces or more, especially if you need that extra. 
• Use blue light glasses when looking at a screen for a long time to avoid eye strain and headaches.
• Lie down in a comfortable position with minimal light and sound. A dark and quiet room can help the dizziness subside instead of adding extra stressors that prolong it. 
• Take medicine, such as Dramamine or antihistamines, to mitigate symptoms associated with motion sickness and dizziness. 
• Avoid substances such as alcohol and caffeine that can heighten dizziness.

If you are implementing these measures to help eliminate dizziness, but they are not working effectively, your condition may need something more deep-rooted and long-lasting. An amazing way to help with vestibular conditions is through a curated physical therapy approach. 

Physical Therapy Treatment

Physical therapy is a great way to train your muscles and neuropathways to fix vestibular conditions that cause imbalance and dizziness. Some of the approaches you can take with physical therapy are:

1. Vestibular Rehabilitation Therapy (VRT)

VRT is beneficial for all types of vestibular conditions, ranging from concussions to Benign Paroxysmal Positional Vertigo (BPPV). During the beginning stages of VRT, you will work closely with a physical therapist who will help you walk through a series of eye and head movement exercises. These will help train your brain to get used to visual stimuli and certain movements as you are slowly but repeatedly exposed to them. It will help your eyes and ears register the same sensory information that is sent to your brain.

After this, you will begin balancing exercises on your feet. This can include trying to walk in a straight line, balancing on one foot, etc. Repeating these exercises will help you strengthen the correct muscles that will aid you when balancing. 

2. Gait Training

Gait training focuses solely on improving walking ability and the balance surrounding it. This type of physical therapy can help improve balance, mobility, and posture. Training your body through gait training can help prevent falls that are associated with dizziness. 

3. Canalith Repositioning Maneuvers

Vertigo can occur when there are canaliths, or crystals in the ear, that detach and move from their original position. Completing head and body exercises, such as the Epley Maneuver, can help them return to their normal position and decrease vertigo symptoms.