Check out our August 2023 Newsletter, highlighting physical therapy for rotator cuff tears, best exercise to address ankle stiffness, physical therapy for vertigo, and aquatic therapy balance training.

Vertigo can dramatically affect your quality of life and ability to perform daily activities. Vertigo involves a false sense of motion, a sensation in which the individual feels that they or their environment is spinning even when sitting or standing still. Physical therapy can reduce and eliminate the symptoms of vertigo, assess and treat the underlying cause of vertigo, retrain the brain to adapt to vestibular dysfunctions and help individuals regain balance and coordination safely.

Vestibular dysfunction refers to an impairment of the structures of the inner ear that affects your balance and spatial orientation. When the vestibular system is not working properly, the brain does not receive correct information about head motion and movement from the vestibular nerves, which can result in dizziness, vertigo, lack of balance, spatial disorientation, and frequent falls. Vestibular dysfunction can be treated with vestibular rehabilitation therapy, which involves manual head maneuvers and progressive exercises to improve gaze and gait instability, reduce head motion-induced dizziness and fall risk, improve fitness, and enhance functional visual skills.

Physical therapy plays a critical role in restoring men to optimal health through treatment of a variety of musculoskeletal and health issues, including work and sport-related injuries, post-surgical rehabilitation, chronic pain, incontinence, sexual dysfunction, and TMD. June is Men’s Health Month and June 14-20 marks Men’s Health Week, a time to highlight the importance of men’s health, early treatment of disease and injury, and development of sustainable healthy habits.

Vertigo and vestibular dysfunction affect a person’s quality of life and ability to perform daily activities. Vestibular dysfunction results in symptoms of lightheadedness, dizziness, vertigo, impaired postural control, and imbalance. Vertigo intensifies the feeling of dizziness into a spinning, tilting sensation. Using vestibular rehabilitation therapy, physical therapists treat a patient with vertigo or vestibular dysfunction, alleviate symptoms, improve balance, and reduce fall risk.

Jenifer Kiernan-Story is a physical therapist at Mangiarelli Rehabilitation, specializing in vestibular dysfunction, vertigo, and women’s health. Her favorite part of her job is working with high-level, skilled therapists and helping individuals with pain and physical impairments improve their function and quality of living.