Published: October 13, 2009 04:51 pm      

Benign Positional Vertigo

By: Marcee Hopper

Have you ever experienced a spinning sensation when you tilt your head to the side, look upward, lie on your side, or perform a quick movement of your head?

If so, you may be experiencing a condition called Benign Positional Paroxysmal Vertigo, or BPPV. There are many other conditions which can cause dizziness or light-headedness, but benign positional vertigo is a spinning sensation that tends to happen with specific, reproducible head movements. Your physician or health care provider can make the diagnosis of BPPV.

BPPV is a is a disorder caused by problems in the inner ear. Within the inner ear, there are calcium crystals called otoliths. The job of the otolith is to detect motion and send the signal to your brain, to tell you that you are moving or spinning so your body can react accordingly. In BPPV, the otoliths become dislodged from their usual position in the inner ear into one of the semicircular canals. Now the receptors are telling your brain that you are spinning, but you are not moving. The room starts to spin around you, and your eyes begin to bounce as if you are spinning. You may become nauseated and quite incapacitated by the vertigo.

The good news is, there are effective treatments for BPPV. A trained health care provider, including a physical therapist, can perform the Epley maneuver, which is a series of very specific head movements to reposition the crystals in the inner ear back to their original position. It is non-invasive treatment, requires no medication, and is generally very successful in treating BPPV.