Understanding Vestibular Migraine
What is a vestibular migraine, and how can it be treated?
Migraines can be debilitating and exhausting, often interfering with daily tasks and activities. If you’ve been confronted with severe headaches, it’s important to determine if you have a vestibular migraine.
Vestibular migraines are one of the most common types of migraine disorder. An experienced physiotherapist like our practitioners at Physio For Life can assess your condition and help provide you with the best treatment.
What Is a Vestibular Migraine?
A vestibular migraine, also known as migrainous vertigo, is a type of migraine where dizziness and problems with balance are the predominant symptoms, more so than a headache. The vestibular system includes the inner ear and brain parts that process sensory information to control balance and eye movements.
The symptoms of a vestibular migraine can include:
- Vertigo: This is typically described as a sensation of feeling off-balance or experiencing a spinning sensation. Vertigo is typically the most prominent symptom in vestibular migraine.
- Dizziness or Unsteadiness: These are quite common and can lead to difficulty standing, walking, or driving.
- Problems with Coordination: People may need help coordinating their movements and become clumsier.
- Nausea or Vomiting: This can be caused by dizziness and vertigo.
- Sensitivity to Motion: Any quick movements, certain visual patterns, or even moving while in a car or watching a movie might provoke your dizziness or other symptoms.
- Migraine symptoms: Though less pronounced, symptoms like headache, light and sound sensitivity, and visual aura may also be present.
The exact cause of vestibular migraines isn’t known, but it’s believed to involve a combination of genetic and environmental factors, just like other types of migraines. Treatment typically involves strategies to prevent or alleviate migraines, including medication, lifestyle changes, and physiotherapy.
Physiotherapy Treatments For Vestibular Migraines
Your physiotherapist will conduct a thorough examination to understand your migraine disorder better. They will ask you questions and perform tests to determine the most likely cause of your headaches.
During your first appointment at Physio For Life, our physiotherapists may ask you to describe the location and severity of your pain and any previous injuries to your neck, head, and jaw.
In addition, your physiotherapist will:
- Conduct tests of muscle strength and sensation.
- Assess your posture when sitting, standing, and performing various activities.
- Measure the range of motion of your neck, shoulders, and other relevant body parts.
Following this initial assessment, we will design a treatment plan tailored to your individual needs and recovery goals. Techniques that we use to treat vestibular migraines include:
Education: Our physiotherapists will teach you how to manage migraine symptoms and help you learn what to do when episodes occur. We may also provide specific stretches and exercises that you can do at home to improve pain and discomfort.
- Manual therapy: Manual therapy is a specialized hands-on technique that focuses on increasing movement and relieving pain in the back muscles of the neck. Specific methods for vestibular migraines include:
- Joint mobilization: This technique involves the skilled movement of joints in the neck, spine, and upper back to improve their range of motion and break restrictions that may contribute to headaches. Our physiotherapists can reduce joint stiffness and alleviate associated headache symptoms by applying gentle and controlled forces.
- Therapeutic massage: Massage therapy is used to relieve tension, which helps to alleviate migraine pain. In addition, this method can have beneficial effects on stress, anxiety, and sleep patterns, contributing to your recovery.
- Exercises: Your physiotherapist will likely include exercises to build strength in weakened muscles that may be contributing to your pain. Specific exercises can also help to restore range of motion and ease muscle tension.
- Vestibular therapy: Vestibular therapy can help if you are experiencing vertigo or dizziness from migraines. This specialized form of rehab involves specific neck, head, and gaze stabilization exercises to improve how your vestibular system functions.
- Posture corrections and ergonomic advice: If posture contributes to your condition, our physiotherapists will teach you ways to correct and improve it. We can also help you modify your workstation, home environment, and other daily settings.
- Acupuncture: Acupuncture facilitates positive energy and removes any negative energy that may be causing you pain. The technique releases trigger points by stimulating different systems in the body.
Schedule an Appointment Today!
Have you been experiencing symptoms of a vestibular migraine? If so, seeking treatment and learning to manage your pain is essential. Our physiotherapists at Physio For Life can address your condition to help you achieve a better quality of life!
Call our clinic today to make an appointment!