Vertigo When You Roll Over in Bed: BPPV Treatment in Gwent

You roll over in bed and the whole room spins. It stops after a few seconds, but it leaves you shaken and a bit sick. The same thing happens when you look up to a high shelf or bend down to the cupboard. This is very likely BPPV, the most common cause of vertigo, and it is usually very easy to treat.

What does BPPV feel like?

• Short bursts of spinning, usually less than a minute
• Set off by moving your head: rolling over in bed, lying down, sitting up, looking up or bending down
• Feeling sick during the spin
• Feeling off balance or a bit muzzy for hours afterwards

Between the bursts, many people feel fine. Others feel generally unsteady and start to avoid moving their head.

What causes it?

The inner ear has tiny crystals of calcium in one part of it. They are meant to stay there. In BPPV, some of them come loose and drift into one of the curved tubes that sense turning. When you move your head, the crystals roll, and the ear tells your brain you are spinning when you are not.

It becomes more common as we get older. It can follow a knock to the head, an inner ear infection or a long time in bed, but often there is no clear reason. The full name, benign paroxysmal positional vertigo, just means harmless, sudden, position-related spinning.

How is it checked?

The physiotherapist asks about your symptoms, then moves you into a few positions on a bed, usually lying back with your head turned. If it is BPPV, this brings on a short spin, and your eyes make a tell-tale flicking movement. The direction of the flicking shows which ear, and which tube, the crystals are in.

How is it treated?

With a repositioning manoeuvre. The most common one is called the Epley manoeuvre. The physiotherapist moves your head and body through a set of positions, holding each for a short time. This rolls the crystals out of the tube and back to where they cause no trouble.

It takes a few minutes. It may bring on the spinning for a moment, which is a good sign. One or two treatments clear it for most people. If the crystals are in a different tube, a different manoeuvre is used, which is why it matters to get it checked properly.

After the treatment

You may feel a bit unsteady for a day or two while things settle. Most people do not need to sleep sitting up any more, but the physiotherapist will tell you if they want you to take any care. If the spinning has not gone, the manoeuvre can be repeated, or exercises added.

Will it come back?

It can, sometimes months or years later. The good news is that it is just as easy to treat again, and once you know what it feels like you can get help quickly.

Why not just wait?

BPPV often settles on its own in time, but that can take weeks. Meanwhile you are dizzy every time you turn over, and getting up at night to the toilet is when many falls happen. A quick treatment is usually much better than putting up with it.

Can I do the manoeuvre myself from a video?

There are home versions, but doing the wrong one, or doing it for the wrong ear, will not help. It is best to have it checked first. Then, if it comes back, you can be shown which one to do.

Why a home visit suits BPPV

The treatment works best on a bed, and your own bed is ideal. You do not have to drive or take a bus while you are dizzy, or travel home straight after the manoeuvre. Raj does vestibular rehabilitation himself, and Anna on the team also works with people who feel dizzy.

When to get urgent help instead

Most dizziness is not dangerous. But some is, and it needs a doctor, not a physiotherapist.

• Call 999 if dizziness comes on suddenly with a drooping face, weakness or numbness in an arm or leg, slurred speech, double vision, trouble walking or a very bad headache. These can be signs of a stroke.
• See your GP or call 111 the same day if you suddenly lose hearing in one ear, if you have a high temperature with it, or if you have fainted or blacked out.
• See your GP if you feel faint or light-headed rather than spinning, especially when you stand up. That is often blood pressure or tablets, and worth a check.

Vertigo treatment across Gwent

Home visits for BPPV and other dizziness are available across Newport, Cwmbran, Pontypool, Abergavenny, Monmouth, Chepstow, Ebbw Vale and across Gwent. You can read more about vertigo treatment in Newport, Cwmbran and Abergavenny.

For a wider look at dizziness and balance, see our general guide to vertigo, dizziness and BPPV.

About Raj and the My Rehab at Home team

Rajan Kurian (HCPC PH113871) founded My Rehab at Home, a team of five physiotherapists who visit people at home across Newport, Cwmbran, Pontypool, Abergavenny, Monmouth, Chepstow, Ebbw Vale and across Gwent. Raj also works in the NHS as a First Contact Physiotherapist in GP surgeries and a Senior Physiotherapist in local hospitals. He works with Sophie, Fliss, Anna and Katie, whose interests include falls and balance, recovery after surgery, stroke and neurological conditions, vertigo and dizziness, jaw (TMJ) problems and rehabilitation after an amputation.

Read Raj's profile or call 01594 203707.

Please mention Mobile Physiotherapist.co.uk when you call.