If your loved one struggles with vertigo, that means he might consistently or occasionally have a sensation or feeling that he himself or his environment is spinning. Vertigo can cause balance problems so it can be especially frightening to an elderly person who may suffer severe injuries from a fall. Vertigo is a result of a problem in the inner ear. Your loved one may complain of feeling dizzy or lightheaded. It might make him withdraw from some of his favorite activities because he’s afraid of falling or it might make him nauseous to have a spinning room around him. In addition to working with his regular physician, you might want to consider hiring physical therapy providers to come into the home to help your parent learn to manage his dizziness symptoms so he can get back to moving again and doing the things he enjoys.
How physical therapy services can help:
Physical therapists are movement experts who improve the quality of life through hands-on care, patient education, and prescribed movement. Having one come into the home helps your loved one take his home environment into account as he works with his physical therapist.
One of the things the physical therapist will do is work with your loved one to determine the cause of his vertigo. While the therapist may not be able to reduce vertigo, they will help your loved one learn how to safely live with it.
For your loved one, treatment may include specialized head and neck movements that they perform on your loved one or help you or your loved one learn how to do yourselves. It could also involve learning special exercises to help provide some relief from the side effects that vertigo causes.
Some types of exercises your loved one might learn are:
- Exercises to improve balance.
- Exercises to help the brain “correct” differences between the inner ears.
- Exercises to improve the ability to focus the eyes.
- Exercises to increase tolerance to visually stimulating environments.
It might be likely that even with those exercises, your loved one will still struggle with vertigo. In that case, the physical therapist will help your loved one learn how to navigate his environment even when the world is spinning. Learning these skills can help make sure he can get around without hurting himself by falling or stumbling into a wall. A specific treatment plan will be created to help your loved one cope when the symptoms are their worst.
For example, if your loved one struggles with vertigo upon standing or sitting, the physical therapist will show him how to get into a vertical position with the least amount of vertigo and/or with safety techniques to help him if the world is spinning too quickly.
If there are activities that make vertigo worse, and your loved one finds he cannot do them anymore, the physical therapist may help him find new ways to do a task or may offer suggestions for items he can purchase to help him still do the activity.
If you or a family member need to hire Physical Therapy Services in Manhasset NY or the surrounding areas, contact the caring professionals at Star Multi Care Services today at (631)956-8835. We are the Right Choice for Home Health Care Services!
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