Joanne McCarty knew it was time to get serious about finding a solution for her chronic dizziness when she was no longer able to bend over to pick up her youngest grandchild.  She was afraid the forward bending movement would trigger her dizziness and she would drop him. After two years of suffering from dizziness every time she lay down, rolled over or turned her head quickly, she finally found a solution with Vestibular Rehabilitation, a specialized program of physical therapy.

McCarty quips the spinning sensations she experienced daily were so severe, "I felt like I was going on a trip without even leaving the house!" Over a two year period, she visited several specialists who finally helped diagnose her problem of Benign Paroxysmal Positional Vertigo, (BPPV). "After eliminating other possible causes for my dizzy spells, like inner ear water or perhaps an insect, the Otolaryngologist finally determined the cause of my problem. He immediately sent me for Vestibular Rehab with Stu Basom, PT at First Choice Rehab." 

"With BPPV, small calcium carbonate crystals become dislodged within the inner ear and then move around depending on your head position, triggering faulty signals that your head is still moving even after it stops", explains Basom, partner and clinic director of the Lemoyne office of First Choice Rehab. "This sensation of movement or imbalance when you are not moving is called vertigo, the primary symptom of benign paroxysmal positional vertigo." Causes of BPPV are from degenerative changes in the elderly, direct blow to the head and whiplash injuries.

Physical therapists like Basom become specially trained in the maneuvers and exercises that are necessary to treat BPPV. Placing the patient on a treatment table, the therapist recreates the symptoms and then uses specific manual therapy techniques to redirect the dislodged crystals within the inner ear. "It is quite remarkable that in one or two sessions of therapy, we are able to totally eliminate the dizziness and spinning sensations," explains Basom. "It is then crucial to continue with follow up sessions to instruct the patient how to do exercises and training techniques that they can incorporate into their daily routines at home", he adds. 

Joanne McCarty agrees with her therapist. "I have not had a dizzy spell since my first session with Stu. After my second session, I couldn't even reproduce my dizzy symptoms if I tried." McCarty, an animal lover and grandmother of 15 explains that the elimination of dizziness has changed her life. "I am no longer afraid to drive with my grandchildren in the car because I am confident that I will be free of dizziness. That is my greatest reward."