Skip to main content

I was well into my career as a physical therapist when I began treating a 40-year-old woman who first came to our clinic being pushed by her husband in a wheelchair. Recently arrived in Kentucky from her native Honduras, she had been experiencing extreme dizziness for six years. Despite a merry-go-round of visits to various doctors, she had been unable to find help.

After being rushed to the emergency room by her husband one day with another bout of dizziness and nausea, she was diagnosed with benign paroxysmal positional vertigo. This condition occurs when calcium carbonate crystals become dislodged and drift into a canal of the inner ear. Because the crystals are not supposed to be there, the canal becomes sensitive to changes in head position and causes dizziness, nausea, and unsteadiness that can lead to falls.

Log in or create a free account to keep reading.


Join APTA to get unlimited access to content.


You Might Also Like...

News

2025 APTA House of Delegates Motions Posted

Jun 3, 2025

APTA members can now access 48 motions that include seven proposed bylaws amendments that will be forwarded for consideration by the 2025 APTA House of

Perspective

Cancer Rehabilitation Month Champions Healing Beyond Treatment

Jun 2, 2025

Members of APTA Oncology share information and resources about Cancer Rehabilitation Month, a new public awareness campaign.

Feature

Short-Handed: Workforce Projections Predict Profession Shortages

Jun 1, 2025

A new APTA report outlines forecasts of a supply shortage of physical therapists through 2037.