Anyone who has injured a knee playing sports knows that physical therapy can get you back in the game. Anyone who suffers from arthritis knows that physical therapy (PT) can provide relief. Anyone who experiences neurological difficulties following a stroke knows physical therapy can help you re-learn motor functions.
But did you know that dizziness can be treated with physical therapy?
Editor’s note: This article is the fifth in a series of stories that originally were published in the Chronicle’s March 1 health and wellness supplement sponsored by Franciscan Health.
Anyone who has injured a knee playing sports knows that physical therapy can get you back in the game.
Anyone who suffers from arthritis knows that physical therapy (PT) can provide relief.
Anyone who experiences neurological difficulties following a stroke knows physical therapy can help you re-learn motor functions.
But did you know that dizziness can be treated with physical therapy?
Brett Grandon, manager of Franciscan Outpatient Therapy in Homewood, operated by METT Therapy Services, said physical therapy may not be considered a common treatment for dizziness, but it is actually very effective in some cases.
For example, people who suffer from dizziness caused by benign paroxysmal positional vertigo, or BPPV, can often have symptoms relieved after only a few treatments.
The condition is caused by a misalignment of small crystals in the inner ear that are part of the complex system that maintains balance and sensitivity to gravity, according to the Mayo Clinic website.
Grandon said physical therapists can realign the crystals with a relatively simple series of movements of the patient’s head.
“There are specific maneuvers for each canal that the crystal can be in,” he said. “It’s like a puzzle, basically.”
Once the crystal puzzle pieces are back in place, patients’ lives return to normal.
Grandon said one of his most memorable cases was a patient who had suffered from BPPV for several years. She had consulted with a number of doctors but hadn’t found relief and her life had become limited.
“When you’re constantly dizzy and have vertigo it impacts your entire life,” Grandon said.
After treatment and her symptoms gone, she called Grandon from her family’s lake house sharing that she had been boating, cycling and hiking.
Having such positive impacts on patients’ lives is what makes PT a satisfying career, Grandon said. His interest in the profession began in high school, and when he had personal experience with PT after his stepbrother suffered a spinal cord injury and underwent rehabilitation.
“I got to watch how the therapist interacted with my family and him,” he said. “I got to see both angles to being a therapist and the patient’s side of it.”
Grandon said how we use phones, tablets and computers is causing a range of posture-related maladies contributing to chronic head and neck problems. With PT, people retrain their muscles to compensate for those habits, he said. Therapists provide patients with exercises and education to prevent a recurrence.
Grandon said not all results are as dramatic as his BPPV patient. Sometimes it takes much more time to relieve a patient’s symptoms. But it is an example of the range of physical ailments that can be treated using the latest technology and PT techniques.
METT’s offers nine types of therapy for treating industrial accidents, sports injuries, neurological problems, joint injuries and disease. The firm operates five clinics.
For additional information, visit FranciscanHealth.org.
Be Well 2020:
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- Joint replacement eases pain (March 12, 2020)
- Heart scan can help detect early coronary risk programming (March 11, 2020)
- 5 benefits of having a primary care doctor (March 10, 2020)