Orthopedics Physical Therapy 5 Ways to Manage Symptoms of Vertigo Caused by BPPV By Brett Sears, PT Updated on February 21, 2022 Medically reviewed by Stuart Hershman, MD Print If you stand up and suddenly feel like the room is spinning and you feel dizzy, you may be experiencing the vertigo-type symptoms associated with benign paroxysmal positional vertigo, or BPPV. BPPV is a problem that is caused by dislodged calcium deposits in your vestibular system in your inner ear. The dislodged calcium crystals interact with nerves in your vestibular system and alter the signals to your brain that are responsible for helping to maintain balance and equilibrium. If you develop vertigo caused by BPPV, there are things that you can do and should do to help decrease or eliminate your symptoms. Some of these things involve getting checked by your healthcare provider and physical therapist, and others are specific exercises and maneuvers to help you start feeling normal again. 1 Don't Panic Tetra Images / Brand X Pictures / Getty Images If you go to stand up or move suddenly and the room starts spinning, don't panic. It may seem like the spinning will last forever, but typically it only lasts for a few seconds. With most cases of BPPV, stabilizing your head and fixing your eyes on something helps to quickly mitigate the spinning. 2 Call Your Healthcare Provider and Then Call Your Physical Therapist Sometimes, dizziness and vertigo are caused by something much more sinister than BPPV. Occasionally, vertigo symptoms may be caused by a stroke or by an inner ear infection or virus. Your healthcare provider should be able to perform some simple tests to ensure that your vertigo is truly caused by BPPV. Your physical therapist can perform special balance tests and vestibular function tests to further assess your BPPV. He or she can then prescribe exercises that are best suited for your specific condition. 3 Perform the Home Epley Maneuver The home Epley maneuver is a simple exercise to do that can help reposition the displaced calcium crystals in your inner ear. This can help to decrease or eliminate your symptoms of vertigo caused by BPPV. The exercise is one that should be done with another person present as it usually causes your symptoms to temporarily occur. It is done by sitting on your bed and then performing special motions with your head and body in sitting and lying. The Epley maneuver has been shown to be 80 percent effective in relieving BPPV-related dizziness. Home Epley Maneuver for Vertigo 4 Perform Brandt Daroff Exercises Brandt Daroff exercises can also be done to help decrease the dizziness and vertigo caused by BPPV. The exercises involve sitting on your bed and moving into a lying position on your side. Brand Daroff exercises can be used to help treat the primary symptoms of BPPV by helping you habituate to the vertigo. The exercises do not necessarily reposition the displaced calcium crystals in the vestibular system. Brandt Daroff exercises can also be used to help prevent future occurrences of BPPV. Brandt Daroff Exercises for Vertigo 5 Try the Semont Maneuver The Semont maneuver is another exercise that is done to treat BPPV. It is similar to the Epley maneuver and Brandt Daroff exercises in that it involves rotation of the head combined with moving from a sitting position to a lying position. Liberatory Semont Maneuver for Vertigo A Word From Verywell Vertigo, room spinning, and dizziness caused by BPPV can be a scary thing that causes you to lose your balance and limit your functional mobility. By keeping calm, checking in with your healthcare provider and physical therapist, and trying simple exercises, you may be able to quickly mitigate your symptoms and return to your previous level of function. 4 Sources Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read our editorial process to learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy. You P, Instrum R, Parnes L. Benign paroxysmal positional vertigo. Laryngoscope Investig Otolaryngol. 2019;4(1):116-123. doi:10.1002/lio2.230 Saber tehrani AS, Kattah JC, Kerber KA, et al. Diagnosing Stroke in Acute Dizziness and Vertigo: Pitfalls and Pearls. Stroke. 2018;49(3):788-795. doi:10.1161/STROKEAHA.117.016979 Cetin YS, Ozmen OA, Demir UL, Kasapoglu F, Basut O, Coskun H. Comparison of the effectiveness of Brandt-Daroff Vestibular training and Epley Canalith repositioning maneuver in benign Paroxysmal positional vertigo long term result: A randomized prospective clinical trial. Pak J Med Sci. 2018;34(3):558-563. doi:10.12669/pjms.343.14786 Pérez-vázquez P, Franco-gutiérrez V. Treatment of benign paroxysmal positional vertigo. A clinical review. J Otol. 2017;12(4):165-173. doi:10.1016/j.joto.2017.08.004 By Brett Sears, PT Brett Sears, PT, MDT, is a physical therapist with over 20 years of experience in orthopedic and hospital-based therapy. See Our Editorial Process Meet Our Medical Expert Board Share Feedback Was this page helpful? Thanks for your feedback! What is your feedback? Other Helpful Report an Error Submit