Vertigo and dizziness are treatable conditions. Whether you’ve been diagnosed with BPPV, are dealing with cervicogenic dizziness from your neck, or have been struggling with balance issues that no one has been able to explain, Far North Physiotherapy has the clinical expertise to assess and treat the cause. You don’t have to keep managing around it.
This is the most important question in vertigo assessment, and it’s one that many patients have never been given a clear answer to. The two most common types of vertigo treated by physiotherapists are vestibular vertigo, which originates from the inner ear, and cervicogenic dizziness, which comes from dysfunction in the upper cervical spine.
The symptoms can feel similar, but the causes are different and so are the treatments. An accurate assessment at your first appointment identifies which type you’re dealing with and rules out anything that requires medical referral.
Vestibular vertigo is caused by a problem in the inner ear or the vestibular nerve. The most common form is BPPV (Benign Paroxysmal Positional Vertigo), where tiny calcium crystals in the inner ear become displaced and cause brief but intense spinning sensations triggered by head movement. Other vestibular conditions include vestibular neuritis and labyrinthitis.
Cervicogenic dizziness originates from the joints and muscles of the upper cervical spine. It typically presents as a sense of unsteadiness or foggy-headedness, often accompanied by neck stiffness or headaches, and is triggered by neck movement or sustained postures. It’s closely related to neck pain and responds well to cervical physiotherapy.
BPPV is the most common cause of vertigo. The Epley manoeuvre is a specific sequence of head and body movements that repositions the displaced crystals in the inner ear, resolving the vertigo in most cases within one to three sessions.
Many people with BPPV have been told to just wait it out or have been given generic vestibular exercises that aren’t specific to their condition. A proper assessment identifies which canal is affected and which repositioning manoeuvre is appropriate. Treating the wrong canal or using the wrong technique will not work.
For patients with ongoing dizziness that isn’t BPPV, vestibular rehab is the recommended approach. It uses specific eye, head, and balance exercises to help the brain recalibrate how it processes movement, reducing dizziness and improving stability over time.
The program is tailored to your assessment findings and progressed at the right pace for your condition. It’s not a generic set of balance exercises, and the difference in outcomes between a tailored program and a generic one is significant.
When dizziness is coming from the neck, the treatment approach is quite different from vestibular rehab. We use manual therapy, joint mobilisation, and targeted cervical strengthening to address the upper cervical dysfunction driving the symptoms. In many cases, improving neck function resolves the dizziness entirely.
Cervicogenic dizziness is frequently missed or misdiagnosed because it overlaps with vestibular symptoms. If you’ve had a vestibular workup that came back clear but you’re still dizzy, cervicogenic dizziness is worth investigating.
Our process starts with a thorough assessment to determine the type and source of your dizziness. From there, we build a treatment plan specific to your presentation.
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We assess eye movements, balance, neck function, and positional testing to identify the cause of your vertigo. You’ll leave your first appointment knowing exactly what’s driving your symptoms and what the treatment involves.
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Treatment depends on your assessment findings and may include repositioning manoeuvres, vestibular rehabilitation exercises, cervical manual therapy, soft tissue work, or a combination of these approaches.
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We explain what’s going on in plain terms and give you a realistic outlook on recovery. BPPV often resolves quickly. Other vestibular and cervicogenic conditions take longer but respond well to the right program.
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We give you a home exercise program tailored to your condition and advise on activity modifications to support recovery. For recurrent BPPV, we also cover strategies to recognise early signs and manage an episode if it returns.
Far North Physio is a Cairns-based physiotherapy clinic with experience in vestibular and cervicogenic conditions. We are one of the few clinics in the region offering dedicated vertigo assessment and physio treatment for vertigo in Cairns.
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BPPV typically causes brief episodes of intense spinning, usually lasting less than a minute, triggered by specific head movements like rolling over in bed, looking up, or tilting your head. If your vertigo comes on suddenly with position changes and settles quickly when you stay still, BPPV is a likely cause. A simple positional test at your first appointment will confirm it.
For BPPV, the repositioning manoeuvre resolves the vertigo in most cases and the results are often immediate. BPPV can recur in some patients, particularly in the first year, but the same treatment approach works again if it does. For other vestibular conditions, physiotherapy significantly improves symptoms and function though the timeline and outcome depend on the underlying cause.
Vertigo is a specific sensation of spinning or movement, either you feel like you’re spinning or the world is spinning around you. Dizziness is a broader term that covers lightheadedness, unsteadiness, and a general sense of being off-balance. Both can be caused by vestibular or cervicogenic conditions and both are assessed and treated at Far North Physio.
No. You can book directly without a referral. If your dizziness is accompanied by sudden severe headache, double vision, difficulty speaking or swallowing, weakness in the limbs, or came on immediately after a head injury, you should see a GP or go to emergency first. For most other presentations of vertigo or dizziness, a physiotherapy assessment is an appropriate first step.
BPPV typically resolves in one to three sessions. Vestibular rehabilitation for ongoing dizziness or balance issues usually involves six to twelve sessions depending on the condition and how long it has been present. Cervicogenic dizziness treatment timelines are similar to cervical spine treatment generally. After your assessment, we’ll give you a realistic outlook specific to your situation.
Vertigo and dizziness don’t have to be something you manage around. Book a vertigo assessment at Far North Physiotherapy in Cairns and leave with a clear diagnosis and a plan.
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