Dizziness in children can be alarming for both parents and children. Vestibular physiotherapy Edmonton offers a gentle solution for managing dizziness in children. By addressing the balance issues, dizziness physiotherapy can help children regain stability, confidence, and comfort.
What Causes Pediatric Dizziness?
Before exploring physiotherapy solutions, it’s essential to recognize some of the common causes of dizziness in children:
- Vestibular Disorders: Problems in the inner ear can lead to dizziness, balance issues, and vertigo. This occurs when the vestibular system is disrupted. It can be treated by vertigo physiotherapy.
- Migraines: Pediatric migraines often manifest differently than in adults. Along with headaches, children may experience dizziness or light-headedness as critical symptoms.
- Post-Concussion Syndrome: After a head injury, children might suffer from lingering dizziness. This is a common symptom in post-concussion syndrome and can affect balance and focus.
- Benign Paroxysmal Positional Vertigo (BPPV): While more frequently seen in adults, BPPV can also affect children, causing brief dizziness during specific head movements.
- Anxiety or Stress: Emotional factors, especially in school-aged children, can sometimes lead to dizziness. Stress and anxiety may trigger physical symptoms, including dizziness or light-headedness.
How Physiotherapy Can Help
When dizziness disrupts a child’s life, vestibular physiotherapy in Edmonton provides an individualized treatment approach that targets the specific cause of dizziness. Below are some essential physiotherapy techniques to help children manage and overcome dizziness.
Vestibular Rehabilitation Therapy (VRT)
Vestibular Rehabilitation Therapy (VRT) is a primary approach physiotherapists use to treat dizziness in adults and children. It focuses on retraining the brain and body to correctly interpret signals from the inner ear, helping children restore their balance and reduce episodes of dizziness. Vestibular physiotherapy is designed to improve gaze stability, posture, and coordination, often incorporating specific head, eye, and body movements to recalibrate the vestibular system.
Gaze stabilization exercise
An example is the gaze stabilization exercise, where a child sits or stands comfortably and focuses on a target, such as a sticker at eye level on the wall, while slowly moving their head from side to side or up and down. The aim is to keep the target in focus as the head moves, helping to improve gaze stability and reduce dizziness caused by quick head movements.
Balance and Coordination Exercises
Balance and coordination exercises are another component of VRT, particularly for children who experience difficulty walking or engaging in physical activities due to dizziness. One such exercise is the standing balance exercise with support, where the child stands on a firm surface with one foot in front of the other in a heel-to-toe stance. They may hold onto a sturdy surface for support and attempt to maintain their balance for 20-30 seconds before switching feet. Over time, this exercise can be performed without support, helping to improve balance and body awareness, which enhances stability during movement.
Postural Control Training
Postural control training is also vital, as poor posture can contribute to dizziness, especially in children who spend extended periods seated at school or using digital devices. Physiotherapists focus on improving postural control to reduce strain on the neck and back, which may aggravate dizziness. A joint exercise for this is postural realignment, where the child stands with their back against a wall, feet hip-width apart, and gently presses their head, shoulders, and lower back against the wall, holding the position for 10-15 seconds and repeating it several times. This helps develop proper posture, reducing neck and spinal strain that can trigger dizziness.
Eye Movement Training
Eye movement training is practical for children with dizziness linked to vestibular issues. These exercises help recalibrate the coordination between the brain and eyes, reducing dizziness during activities that involve head and eye movements. An example is eye tracking, in which a pen or object is moved from side to side in front of the child’s face while they follow it with their eyes without moving their head. This improves coordination between eye and head movements, reducing dizziness during sudden focus changes.
Breathing and Relaxation Techniques
For children with dizziness related to anxiety or stress, breathing exercises and relaxation techniques help calm the nervous system and manage dizziness. Deep belly breathing is a common technique. In this technique, the child sits or lies comfortably with one hand on their belly and the other on their chest, then tries to take deep breaths through the nose and exhaling through the mouth. This exercise helps reduce dizziness by calming the nervous system and improving oxygen flow to the brain.
Epley Maneuver (for BPPV)
The Epley Maneuver is a repositioning technique used for Benign Paroxysmal Positional Vertigo (BPPV) by moving displaced calcium particles (called canaliths) in the inner ear back to their proper location. When BPPV causes a child’s dizziness, a physiotherapist may use this technique to alleviate symptoms. The maneuver involves guiding the child through specific head and body movements, usually performed on a treatment table. First, the child is seated with their head turned to one side, then gently moved into a lying position with their head hanging slightly off the table’s edge. After holding this position for a short time, the physiotherapist will carefully rotate the child’s head to the opposite side and then roll their body to the same side. Finally, the child is brought back to a seated position. These movements help reposition the particles in the inner ear, reducing dizziness and restoring balance.
A Path to Recovery From Dizziness
Pediatric dizziness can be challenging, but vestibular physiotherapy in Edmonton offers practical solutions to help children regain their balance, improve coordination, and feel more confident in their daily activities. Our physiotherapists provide a comprehensive approach to treating dizziness. If your child is experiencing dizziness, contact Turning Point Physiotherapy in Edmonton for expert care to guide them through recovery with a personalized plan.