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Sweet relief: How Physical Therapy Helps Headaches and Vertigo

Physical therapist provides neck alignment to patient

Physical therapy is well-known for its role in rehabilitation post-injury and getting athletes in tip-top shape. Did you know that PT can also help with headaches and vertigo?

Physical therapy can help treat chronic headaches

Headaches are incredibly common. In fact, 50% of people will experience a headache disorder in their lifetime. Millions of people suffer from the side effects of severe headaches due to pinched or pulled nerves, injuries, chemical imbalances or more. Pain from headaches caused by mechanical functions (like a pulled nerve or neck strain), can usually be treated by physical therapy. In some cases, physical therapists can even start headache treatment before the pain actually starts.

By identifying actions and activities that cause headaches, physical therapists are able to address chronic headaches at the root. For example, body posture or form when exercising at the gym may contribute or trigger headaches. A PT can create a plan to reduce the frequency of headaches through correcting posture and form, light stretching, and exercises to strengthen neck and upper back muscles.

Migraines are more severe headaches that can cause a myriad of symptoms, from throbbing pain to nausea to sensitivity to light and sound. Migraine attacks can last from hours to days, and the pain and symptoms could be severe enough to interrupt daily life and activities. According to the Global Burden of Disease Study 2019, an estimated 1.2 billion people worldwide experience migraines each year.

Studies show that physical therapy, in addition to medicinal treatment, could help reduce the pain and sensitization of a migraine attack. Through a tailored plan of manual therapy, exercise therapy, and education, physical therapists could help users build muscle and prepare for migraine attacks.

Physical therapy can help treat vertigo

Vertigo is the feeling of the environment spinning even when everything is perfectly still. This sensation can make people feel dizzy, woozy or lightheaded can also affect balance. In serious cases, vertigo can affect everyday life by making it hard to walk, stand or drive.

According to a study published in the National Library of Medicine , vertigo is complex, so much so that “the effect of diagnosis and treatment with ordinary drugs alone is not ideal.” Physical therapists can help people with Vertigo by focusing on dizziness and balance vestibular rehabilitation.

Vestibular rehabilitation is a specialized form of physical therapy designed to treat balance and dizziness disorders caused by issues with the vestibular system in the inner ear. In vestibular rehabilitation, physical therapists help improve balance in a number of ways that could include walking and standing exercises, body positioning exercises, and sensory exercises tailored to their patients. The goal is to improve balance and stability issues to lessen the effects of vertigo when it hits.

“Vestibular rehabilitation training combined with common medicine treatment can better eliminate the symptoms of vertigo, improve patients’ quality of life, and make the patients more satisfied with the treatment, so it will accelerate the progress of their rehabilitation and improve their quality of life,” one study showed.

PT is more than rehabilitation and athlete preparation. It’s sweet relief for effectively treating a wide variety of health issues. Community Physical Therapy & Associates (CPT) is committed to ensuring our clients (inpatient or outpatient) have the support they need to live their best lives. Connect with us to learn how we can help you.

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