Conditions We Support
BPPV can cause brief, intense spinning when you roll in bed, look up, bend down or sit up. A focused assessment can help distinguish positional vertigo from other causes of dizziness and guide appropriate treatment.
Review when and how dizziness occurs
Assess balance, eye and head movement responses
Use appropriate repositioning treatment when clinically indicated
Build confidence with balance and movement rehabilitation
Meditree combines acupuncture, physiotherapy, Chinese herbal medicine and rehabilitation care under one East Auckland clinic. Your care plan is tailored to your symptoms, lifestyle and recovery goals, with clear guidance at every stage.
Benign paroxysmal positional vertigo, or BPPV, is an inner-ear condition. The main symptom is a spinning sensation triggered by a change in head position. Episodes are often brief and may settle when the head is kept still.
A clinician first listens to the timing, triggers and associated symptoms, then screens for signs that may require medical referral. Positional tests may be used when BPPV is suspected.
When the findings are consistent with BPPV and treatment is appropriate, a canalith repositioning manoeuvre may be used to guide displaced inner-ear particles back toward their normal location. The exact manoeuvre depends on the affected side and canal, so self-treatment without an assessment is not always suitable.
Some people remain cautious, unsteady or sensitive to movement after the strongest vertigo improves. A gradual programme may address balance, walking, visual motion sensitivity, neck movement and confidence with daily activities.
Acupuncture may be considered for associated neck tension, stress or nausea in selected patients. It does not replace an appropriate assessment or the repositioning manoeuvre used for confirmed BPPV, and it should not delay medical care when warning signs are present.
If symptoms may be an emergency, call 111. For urgent advice in New Zealand, contact Healthline on 0800 611 116.
No. BPPV is a specific inner-ear cause of vertigo that is usually triggered by changes in head position. Dizziness can also come from many other causes, so the symptom pattern needs to be assessed.
A trained clinician can assess positional vertigo and, when BPPV is confirmed and treatment is appropriate, may use a canalith repositioning manoeuvre. Balance rehabilitation may also help with ongoing unsteadiness.
There is no good basis for claiming that acupuncture repositions the particles involved in BPPV. It may be used only as supportive care for associated symptoms in selected patients, not as a replacement for appropriate BPPV assessment and repositioning treatment.
The Epley manoeuvre is designed for a particular type and side of BPPV. An assessment is advisable before self-treatment, especially if the diagnosis is uncertain or you have neck, vascular, neurological or mobility concerns.