Many of my patients complain of vertigo at the hair salon, especially while getting their hair shampooed. In this article, I will discuss three possible reasons for vertigo at the hair salon. I always recommend notifying your primary care provider about any vertigo at the salon. They may want to order special tests or make specialty referrals. BPPV Can Cause Vertigo at the Hair Salon One of the most common causes of vertigo at the hair salon is BPPV. This condition is caused when dislodged crystals in your inner ear become displaced. When you lean back into the shampoo bowl at the hair salon ..read more

Dizziness while standing can have various root causes. The key information that will help your healthcare providers determine the root cause is the duration of the symptoms. When you stand up, how long does the dizziness last? In this article, I will share ten possible causes of dizziness while standing and what to do about it. Medication Side Effects Side effects from medications or possible drug interactions can cause or worsen dizziness while standing. What to Do You can ask your doctor or pharmacist if any of your medications might be causing your symptoms. They will review your medicatio ..read more

Some people feel dizzy in the morning. In this article, I will discuss a few possible reasons for dizziness in the morning and what to do. Possible Reasons for Dizziness in the Morning Reason 1: BPPV BPPV is the most common vestibular cause of dizziness and vertigo. People with BPPV usually feel worse in the morning. Symptoms can vary from dizziness to vertigo, nausea and imbalance. People with BPPV usually have eye fluttering or nystagmus when the vertigo is activated by lying down, rolling over bed, or getting up out of bed. However, symptomatic BPPV can occur without spinning and without a ..read more

Having sensitivity to light is a common symptom that my vertigo patients report. They often ask: Why do bright light or sunlight makes me feel more dizzy or nauseous? Why do LEDs or fluorescent lighting trigger symptoms of dizziness, vertigo, or nausea? Why do flashing or flickering lights affect my balance, cause dizziness, or trigger a headache? Why do I feel worse as soon as I turn on the light switch or step outside into the sunlight? Why do I want to close my eyes when the lights come on? Feeling sensitive to light is also called light sensitivity, and technically called photophobia. S ..read more

Vestibular System Function and Dysfunction The human vestibular system has four primary functions. Thereby, vestibular dysfunction causes four primary problems. In this blog, I will discuss four functions of the vestibular system. For each function, I will describe the associated dysfunction when something has gone wrong. Steady Upright Posture The vestibular system allows vertebrates – including humans, to orient themselves upright considering the pull of gravity. Another term for a steady upright posture is postural stability. This postural stability driven by vestibular system function occu ..read more

BPPV has a high recurrence rate and is mostly idiopathic (no known cause). There is no current general consensus among researchers or clinicians about recurrent BPPV risk factors. Therefore, risk factors for recurrent BPPV is a very important topic! I’ve recently written a blog article to review three research publications about bppv recurrence. After discussing the content of that blog article with my vestibular PT colleagues, I have decided to review a few more research articles on this very important topic. In this blog, I will review the results of three more research publications about r ..read more

COVID related dizziness is a huge epidemic. Since the era of COVID began in early 2020, my private physical therapy practice has never been more busy. I’ve seen a huge uptick in new cases of dizziness and vertigo, especially in young people. I’ll share some of my observations in this blog and things I’ve learned, but I am certain we will all need to continue to learn more about this condition over time. I am definitely not claiming to be an expert on the topic of COVID related dizziness, but I feel compelled to share my observations since I am seeing so many new patients with similar issues ..read more

In this blog, I will share my grassroots perspective on the consequences of a third-party healthcare system in the United States from the perspective of both an experienced healthcare provider and a patient with complex health needs. What other industry do you know of where the payer sets the price for the services purchased AND routinely increases the time burden on those delivering the service without increasing their pay? One of the biggest consequences I see in the American third-party healthcare system today is that the law of supply and demand has been completely convoluted. There is al ..read more

Everyone who is treated for BPPV should be educated on the risk of BPPV recurrence and what to do about it. In this blog, I will discuss a summary of findings from three research studies published on this important topic. Study #1 In one study of 548 patients over an extended period, the authors found a BPPV recurrence rate of 22.1% at five years. Of those patients with a recurrence, about 70% occurred within the first year. Certain risk factors were found to have a significant correlation with BPPV recurrence including: Head trauma Ménière’s disease affects one ear A higher number of B ..read more

Dizziness and Neck Stiffness Typically the neck is not even considered as a possible root cause of dizziness unless the patient complains of neck pain. I have found neck stiffness can cause motion-activated dizziness and neck pain. Neck Mobility is Important to Relieve Cervical Dizziness After working collaboratively on over a thousand complex patient cases with my highly experienced orthopedic manual physical therapy colleague, we have discovered dizziness and neck stiffness go hand-in-hand for some patients – even in the absence of neck pain. Proper alignment of the bones of the neck, jaw, r ..read more