Our Services

What is Vertigo?

Vertigo is a sensation of feeling off-balance. If you have these dizzy spells, you might feel like you are spinning or that the world around you is spinning. Vertigo is often caused by an inner ear problem, but dizziness can also be caused by the neck.

For some, treatment is needed and may include vestibular rehabilitation. This is a type of physical therapy aimed at helping strengthen the vestibular system. The function of the vestibular system is to send signals to the brain about head and body movements relative to gravity.

Common Causes

BPPV. These initials stand for benign paroxysmal positional vertigo. BPPV occurs when tiny calcium particles (canaliths) clump up in the canals of the inner ear. The inner ear sends signals to the brain about head and body movements relative to gravity. It helps you keep your balance.

Meniere’s disease. This is an inner ear disorder thought to be caused by a buildup of fluid and changing pressure in the ear. It can cause episodes of vertigo along with ringing in the ears (tinnitus) and hearing loss.

Vestibular neuritis or labyrinthitis. This is an inner ear problem usually related to infection (usually viral). The infection causes inflammation in the inner ear around nerves that are important for helping the body sense balance

Other causes may include head or neck injury, brain problems such as stroke or tumor, certain medications that cause ear damage, migraine headaches, tightness in the neck or base of the skull, or other nervous system disorders.

What is a Concussion?

A concussion is a traumatic brain injury that is caused by a direct blow to the head or a force transmitted through the body to the head. A concussion can cause an array of symptoms including dizziness, headaches, reduced visual scanning, fatigue, irritability, and impaired concentration.

Our comprehensive evaluation allows us to identify the deficits associated with the symptoms and develop an individualized treatment plan. The concussion program consists of:

• Education in a staged return to school, work, daily activities, and sports to allow brain healing and reduce symptoms
• Vestibular rehabilitation to improve dizziness, balance, and visual tracking. Testing for Benign Paroxysmal Positional Vertigo may be performed to rule out the peripheral source of dizziness
• Mechanical evaluation of cervical spine to assess for movement disorder contributing to headache or neck pain
• Visual training to improve motor function, coordination, and speed

What are Headaches?

Headaches can be more complicated than most people realize. Different kinds can have their own set of symptoms, happen for unique reasons, and need different kinds of treatment.

Once you know the type of headache you have, you and your doctor or Physical Therapist can find the treatment that’s most likely to help and even try to prevent them. The most common types of headache treated by physical therapy are tension/stress type, migraine with or without aura, vestibular migraine, cluster, and New Daily persistent headaches.

Treatment

Treatment will be determined following a mechanical assessment of the upper and lower neck and will depend on the type of headache. If a movement disorder is uncovered, correcting it will be the first task. A combination of manual therapy, trigger point, soft tissue, and dural release may be used to manage symptoms. If the diagnosed headache is of the migraine type, treatment will not cure the migraine, but rather eliminate the cervicogenic trigger(s). A home program is then prescribed to further reduce symptoms and maintain changes obtained through treatment.

Precaution & Prevention

Anyone can fall, but the risk for falls increases as we age. Even falls that do not lead to injury can affect you. But some simple precautions and a little preparation can help prevent falls.

More than one-third of people over the age of 65 have at least one fall each year. Sight, hearing, muscle strength, and coordination may not be what they once were. Balance can be affected by diabetes and heart disease, or by problems with your circulation, thyroid, or nervous system. Other common medical conditions that increase your risk of falling include arthritis, cataracts, or hip surgery.

Even falls that do not lead to injury can have a negative effect on older adults. After a fall, older people often limit their activity because they are afraid they will fall again. When you reduce your exercise and movement, your body becomes weaker, which can, in turn, increase the risk of another fall.

There is evidence to support that multidisciplinary treatment (including physical therapy) approaches to balance are the most effective at preventing future falls. At PTSR we provide evidence-based manual therapy and exercise programs to measurably improve balance and decrease your risk of falling.

At Physical Therapy Services of Rochester we are the orthopedic experts you’ve been looking for. Our team of dedicated therapists has over 40 years of combined experience treating orthopedic injuries. We have expertise in pre- and post-operative care as well as managing patients with complex fractures.

Whether you’ve had a joint replacement, rotator cuff repair, arthroscopic surgery, or if you’re a weekend warrior with aches and pains looking to remain active, come experience the superior care of an experienced orthopedic physical therapist in a one-on-one setting.

After you’ve had a joint replacement, or surgery of any kind, choosing the right PT is vitally important for your recovery. By scheduling our patients one-on-one we are able to truly listen to our patients and provide unique care tailored to you, an individual, rather than a canned list of exercises that are performed without any real supervision.

Orthopedic Conditions we are experts in:

• Joint Replacements – Hip, Knee, and Shoulder
• Fracture Care
• Strains/Sprains/Overuse injuries
• Shoulder Pain
• Knee Pain
• Running Injuries
• Arthritis Care 
• Foot and Ankle pain 
• Post-Operative care of the shoulder, hip, knee, foot and ankle