Why come to FYZICAL Therapy & Balance Centers?
Assessment and treatment of patients with dizziness, as you know, is challenging. You go from one provider to the next, never getting a definitive diagnosis and even worse very little assistance on treatment. In most cases, the cause of dizziness is associated with a disorder of the vestibular system. When this system becomes malfunctioned, you develop dizziness symptoms. There are two forms of dizziness physical therapists at FYZICAL can treat: BPPV type dizziness and symptoms associated with a Sensory Mismatch.
If you have been through this site and across the internet, BPPV is the most common form of dizziness but often over diagnosed and misunderstood. BPPV is diagnosed with a Dix-Hallpike and/or Supine Roll test to determine which canal or canals the loose debris is in. The misunderstood part of BPPV is the word benign – it is not. While the debris itself is loose calcium crystals, it is also parts of the sensor called the utricle that has sloughed off associated with an injury to it. Once the utricle is injured, it is a permanent disorder and can lead to further BPPV events and slow, persistent imbalance.
If you have BPPV, all the clinicians are trained in the most advanced treatments. I know this sounds like a platitude and you might say, well I would hope so. Just know, every Level II and III Balance Retrainer gets over 36 hours of training in the assessment and management of BPPV. Moreover, if they cannot fix it, FYZICAL has four OMNIAX Chairs across the country to assist our clinicians when the BPPV is recalcitrant or difficult to remove.
The second type of dizziness physical therapy can treat is due to a phenomenon called Sensory Mismatch. Normally, when you are doing a task or moving in your environment, your brain naturally weighs the sensory inputs needed for the activity you are doing. If you are standing still, you are primarily using your sense of touch – when you are moving you are primarily using your inner ears. When youy develop an injury to the inner ear (vestibular system), you brain has to compensate with your eyes, sense of touch, and even your hearing to orient you. When it does this correctly, all is good. But when the brain is incorrect, you feel dizziness. For instance, when you are feeling unsteady on your feet what do you want to do…sit, of course. What happens is because sitting feels so much better than standing or even walking, you start to sit more and more, finally developing a Sensory Mismatch. Now, every time you get up and attempt to stand or walk, you feel even more unsteady and the dizziness symptoms feel worse.
Another example of Sensory Mismatch is with your eyes. You vision is at it’s best when you are doing what…nothing. Keeping your head still actually makes the visual system work at it’s best so often patients with dizziness will keep their heads still to increase the use of visual cues. But again, what happens…you got it, you start to become visually dependent. You may even start having neck pain and stiffness because you do not want to move your head. The visual system can become so dependent that you actually develop a visual sensitivity and require sun glasses inside to reduce the glare.
Why are we teaching you this…because when we looked at 822 patients retrospectively with computerized force plate testing using NASA-based technology, we identified everyone with dizziness develops Sensory Mismatch after a vestibular injury. The key is not everyone is the same – some people are visually dependent, some are surface dependent, but most are both. Some patients are more surface than vision and some are the opposite – vision greater than surface. The key at FYZICAL Therapy & Balance Centers is we have the ability to identify these mismatches and treat them using our propiretary FYZICAL Balance Paradigm.
I know you hear this from so many providers – we have the answer, we are better,…etc.
What we want you to know at FYZICAL is balance and treating dizziness is our passion – it is part of who we are and it is in our name. What is even more important is at FYZICAL, there are 2,200 Medical Doctors, Physical Therapists, Nurse Practitioners, Physician Assistants, and Athletic Trainers working together to find the solution to your problem. We are a family of experts working together under one brand to find the answer. If you have recalcitrant dizziness and need help, please consider FYZICAL Therapy & Balance Centers.
– Brian K. Werner, PT, MPT – National Director: FYZICAL Balance Programs