Vestibular treatment

The phenomenon is not uncommon: Someone drifts off to sleep, wakes up in the morning, sits up in bed, and suddenly the room starts spinning. And they didn't have anything to drink the night before. Really.

It may be benign paroxysmal positional vertigo. And you can blame it all on ear rocks. Yes, ear rocks.

Our ears house "rocks" made of calcium carbonate. When those get displaced for some reason, it can lead to vertigo.

"It can cause dizziness, nausea, and vomiting," says Community Hospital's Eric Folkins, physical therapist, doctor of physical therapy, and orthopedic clinical specialist. "It is treated by relocating the displaced rocks in the inner ear. We usually can treat it very successfully, with up to 95-percent improvement in just one or two visits."

Folkins also works with patients experiencing general balance problems. These patients feel unsteady and off-balance, as if they are the ones spinning, not the room. Folkins investigates their history, assesses their somatosensory (muscles and joints, particularly the ankles) system, and determines the source of the problem.

"To strengthen an impaired vestibular (inner ear) system or just to improve balance," Folkins says, "we have patients perform various exercises such as walking down the hallway, turning their head side to side or up and down, balancing on one leg or on a piece of foam. We have great outcomes; a lot of times people walk out of here the same day feeling great."