How Can Physiotherapy Help With A Vestibular Migraine?
If you’re someone who is struggling with vestibular migraines that leave you dizzy and unsteady you might wonder how physiotherapy could alleviate such symptoms.
By implementing tailored exercise programs, you can enhance balance and reduce dizzy spells. Techniques like gaze stability drills and habituation exercises train your brain to manage disorienting stimuli better.
This isn’t just about exercise; it’s a holistic approach, including stress management and neck muscle strengthening. So, how exactly do these interventions translate into real-world benefits for someone like you?
Please read our latest blog to understand this, and much more about the evidence-based benefits of vestibular physiotherapy for vestibular migraines.
What Is a Vestibular Migraine?
In the midst of a vestibular migraine episode, you may find yourself grappling with debilitating symptoms that not only affect your balance and equilibrium but also impact your vision, hearing, and overall sense of well-being.
A vestibular migraine is a condition that affects the blood supply to the vestibular system, which is responsible for maintaining balance and spatial orientation. This results in a range of symptoms, including vertigo, nausea, and sensitivity to light and sound.
You may feel like you’re spinning or the world around you is moving, making everyday activities a challenging task. The episode can last from minutes to days, and in some cases, it may or may not be accompanied by a headache. It’s crucial to note that vestibular migraines can also affect your ears, vision, and overall balance.
Given that it’s the second most common cause of vertigo, and individuals with a history of migraines are more likely to experience vestibular migraines, recognising the symptoms is important.
As you navigate the complexities of vestibular migraine, understanding the signs and symptoms is the first step towards effective management and treatment.
Causes of Vestibular Migraines
Understanding the causes of vestibular migraines is key to effective management, helping patients like you identify and mitigate potential triggers:
A focus on these underlying causes allows for better symptom management. By understanding them, you can work with healthcare professionals to develop a personalised plan aimed at reducing the impact of vestibular migraines on your life.
Physiotherapy Techniques for Relief
Physiotherapy techniques for relieving vestibular migraine symptoms often start with targeted exercises designed to improve gaze stability and balance:
You may engage in gaze stability exercises that involve focusing on a stationary object while moving your head side to side or up and down. These exercises aim to retrain how your brain interprets vestibular signals, significantly reducing dizziness.
To get a better understanding of how to perform the gaze stability exercise, here is a clear video tutorial from the University of Michigan:
Balance enhancement exercises play a pivotal role as well. Simple activities like standing on one leg or walking heel-to-toe can progressively challenge your balance.
Here is a great balance enhancement exercise routine from Jessica Valant Pilates that you can try at home to improve your balance:
More specific techniques, such as habituation exercises, expose you to movements and environments that trigger your symptoms, helping decrease your brain’s sensitivity to these triggers over time.
Here is another useful video that gives you a good understanding of some important habituation exercises from Sandycove Physiotherapy:
For those experiencing benign paroxysmal positional vertigo (BPPV) alongside vestibular migraines, canalith repositioning maneuvers are often performed. These maneuvers help move the displaced crystals in your inner ear back to their original position, alleviating vertigo and dizziness.
At least for the first time, and for safety and effectiveness, it’s best to perform this manoeuvre under the guidance of a qualified Physio that is experienced and trained in vestibular rehabilitation.
Research supports the Semont maneuver’s efficacy in resolving BPPV-related vertigo symptoms, making it a valuable tool in managing your condition.
Here’s a useful video tutorial on the Semont Maneuver from the University of Michigan:
Individualised treatment plans are essential. Your physiotherapist will tailor your regimen to address your unique symptoms and functional limitations, ensuring it effectively meets your needs.
Through consistent practice, these exercises can yield noticeable improvements in your daily life, easing the burden of vestibular migraine symptoms.
Benefits of Vestibular Rehabilitation
With vestibular rehabilitation, you can experience notable improvements in balance, reduced dizziness, and an enhanced overall quality of life. This specialised form of physiotherapy targets the dysfunction in your vestibular system, retraining your brain to adapt to vestibular challenges.
By focusing on individualised exercises, vestibular rehabilitation can effectively manage symptoms like vertigo and unsteadiness, helping you regain balance confidence.
Studies have shown that vestibular rehabilitation can offer significant benefits, including:
The evidence supporting vestibular rehabilitation highlights its effectiveness in managing vestibular migraine symptoms. By offering a nonpharmaceutical approach, this therapy complements traditional treatments, allowing for a holistic management plan that addresses your unique needs.
Through consistent practice, vestibular rehabilitation can empower you to take control of your symptoms and enjoy a better quality of life.
Managing Symptoms With Exercise
By incorporating targeted exercises into your daily routine, you can effectively manage the debilitating symptoms of vestibular migraine, including dizziness, vertigo, and unsteadiness. Vestibular physiotherapy offers tailored exercises aimed at improving balance, gaze stability, and symptom adaptation, helping you enhance vestibular function and reduce the frequency and intensity of migraine episodes.
As you engage in these exercises, prescribed by your vestibular physiotherapist, you’ll notice improvements in balance, confidence and physical function, leading to a better overall quality of life.
Consistency is key. Regular engagement in vestibular physiotherapy exercises helps you adapt to and manage symptoms more effectively. You’ll find that your balance and steadiness improve, reducing the risk of falls and injuries.
Additionally, exercise-induced symptom reduction lessens the need for medication, providing a complementary approach to traditional pharmacotherapy.
When To Seek Professional Help
If you’re struggling to manage recurring episodes of dizziness, vertigo, or imbalance, or if your symptoms are affecting your daily life, seeking professional assistance from a qualified healthcare expert is vital.
As a Vestibular Migraine patient, recognizing when to seek help is crucial in effectively managing your symptoms and improving your quality of life.
You shouldn’t hesitate to consult a specialist if you’re experiencing any of the following:
Additionally, if you have a history of migraines and suspect vestibular migraine as a possible cause, it’s wise to discuss this with your healthcare provider. Concerns about balance, ear function, or vision should also prompt a professional evaluation.
Consult a healthcare professional promptly to confirm your treatment plan is both safe and efficient. Your well-being is paramount, and expert care can make a considerable difference in managing your condition.
Summing It All Up...
Physiotherapy plays a crucial role in the management of vestibular migraines, providing relief from debilitating symptoms like dizziness and vertigo. By incorporating targeted exercises, it helps improve vestibular function, which in turn reduces the frequency and intensity of migraine episodes.
Through regular physiotherapy sessions, patients can regain control over their symptoms, leading to a significant improvement in their quality of life. By improving vestibular function and overall balance, physiotherapy offers a holistic approach to managing vestibular migraines, enhancing the effectiveness of other treatments and reducing reliance on medications.
You don’t have to put up with vestibular migraines – the issue is more common than you think and readily treatable.
Our qualified & experienced Vestibular Rehabilitation Physio can help you regain your sense of balance & get back to doing the things you enjoy in life.
Please schedule an appointment with Jack here or call us on (03) 6161 1737 to learn more information about the root cause of your migraines and how to better manage them.
Rosanna Physio
Rosanna Physio has been serving the people of Rosanna and its surrounding suburbs since 1989. We have the education, qualifications and experience to effectively treat any muscle or joint injury that requires expert physical therapy care.
Article References:
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