Page 26 - Seniors Today Dec 2019

Fitness

That dizzy

feeling

Physiotherapist Dr R Senthil Kumar explains
which exercises can help you manage vertigo

Vertigo is a feeling of rotation of the taking more medications for various illnesses.
surrounding. It is expressed in different ways When a person gets vertigo, they need
by people as light-headedness, unsteadiness, to consult a medical specialist such as a
a rocking feeling as if travelling in a boat, and neurologist or an ENT specialist. After proper
dizziness. diagnosis and medications are prescribed,
It is one of the most common problems above there are specialised exercises which should be
the age of 65 for which people seek frequent followed with the guidance of a physiotherapist
medical help. It can cause nausea, vomiting, trained in vertigo treatment. Physiotherapists
feeling of tiredness, and can lead to a fall. Falls will assess and do repositioning manoeuvres
can be the cause of serious injuries and may and prescribed suitable exercises. According
even be fatal at times. to the cause of the giddiness and imbalance the
We all need to have good balance to carry out exercise program will change.
any activity in our daily life. The most common
cause is balance problem is BPPV ie Benign
Paroxysmal Positional Vertigo due to alteration
in the function of a specialised structure present
inside the inner ear called semi-circular canals.
People get vertigo or giddiness which last
for few seconds especially when they change
the position like rolling to one side in the
bed, getting up from bed, etc. Other causes
are neuritis (inflammation of vestibular
nerve), Meniere’s disease, migraine leading to
vertigo, sometimes a type of stroke, postural
hypotension (reduced BP during getting up
from sitting or from bed), heart failure and Vertigo and dizziness can affect your life adversely, but you can
take steps to feel better
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