Stubborn Vertigo? Here’s how to beat it

One frustrating problem with vertigo is that even if you receive “successful” treatment, mild dizziness and balance problems may linger for months or years after the main spinning has stopped.

Luckily, a new study published in Acta Oto-Laryngologica found that a specific kind of physical therapy — called vestibular rehabilitation — can help people who continue to feel dizzy after standard vertigo treatment.

The research focused on people who had been treated for benign paroxysmal positional vertigo, commonly called BPPV.

This condition occurs when tiny calcium crystals in your inner ear move out of place, causing intense spinning sensations when you move your head in certain ways.

While doctors can usually fix BPPV with simple head movements that return the crystals to their proper place, many patients still experience lingering dizziness and balance problems long after treatment.

Researchers noticed this issue and decided to investigate whether vestibular rehabilitation could help these patients feel better.

This therapy involves movements and eye exercises designed to retrain your brain.

The researchers recruited 30 people who were all experiencing residual dizziness after successful BPPV treatment.

They divided them into two groups to compare different approaches:

● Group 1 (15 participants) received comprehensive vestibular rehabilitation. They attended weekly physiotherapy sessions with a trained therapist and were given specific home exercises to perform daily for six months.

● Group 2 (15 participants) received instruction on aerobic exercises and attended less frequent sessions—only every two weeks—for the same six-month period.

Before and after the six months, both groups were tested using the following:

1. Modified Dizziness Handicap Inventory (mDHI): A survey measuring how much dizziness interferes with daily life.

2. Functional Gait Assessment (FGA): A walking test to assess balance and movement.

3. Posturography (COP EC): A test measuring how well someone can stand still with eyes closed—challenging when balance is impaired.

4. Self-Rating Depression Scale (SDS): To track any mental health changes.

Here’s what happened after six months:

1. Both groups improved overall: their mDHI (dizziness) and FGA (walking balance) scores got better.

2. But only the vestibular rehab group showed improved balance and postural control — especially when standing with eyes closed.

3. Their dizziness scores also improved more than Group 2’s, meaning they felt less dizzy overall.

So, while both aerobic exercise and vestibular rehabilitation help with lingering post-treatment dizziness, the latter is more effective.

But there are simple exercises that work better than any of these, and there is almost never any lingering dizziness after doing them.

Thousands of people have used these simple head exercises to permanently rid themselves of vertigo and dizziness – as soon as the first day…