What We Treat

Dizziness and vertigo treatment in River Forest.

The ceiling swings when you roll over in bed. You have started turning your head slowly, just in case. Vestibular therapy starts with finding what is actually setting it off, not a guess.

BPPV Room spinning Motion sensitivity Talk to a Specialist

Sound Familiar?

Does this sound like you?

  • Rolling over in bed and watching the ceiling take a lap
  • Reaching for the top shelf and grabbing the counter on the way down
  • The cereal aisle, where the shelves seem to lean in on you
  • Standing up from the chair and waiting a beat for the room to settle
  • Checking your blind spot and immediately wishing you had not
  • Letting someone else drive because you no longer trust a quick head turn

Two or more? Keep reading.

Why It Happens

Dizziness is a symptom. Something is misreporting.

Dizziness is one word for several very different problems, and they are not treated the same way. Loose crystals in an inner ear canal fire a false signal when you change head position, which is BPPV. An inner ear knocked down by illness or surgery sends a weaker signal on one side, so your brain gets two different stories at once. A stiff neck and lazy gaze control can add their own version. So can a drop in blood pressure when you stand up too fast.

Your balance runs on three inputs: the inner ear, your eyes, and what your feet and joints feel. When one of them starts misreporting, the room moves. A cause-first evaluation tests all three to find which one is lying, then treats that one. If what we find belongs with a physician instead, we will tell you plainly and help you get there.

Vestibular assessment for dizziness and vertigo

The Honest Truth

Dizziness does not wait for a good week.

If you keep waiting

  • You avoid the movements that set it off, so your balance system gets less practice, not more
  • Driving, stairs and busy stores turn into things you have to talk yourself into
  • Waiting for the next episode starts costing you more than the episodes do

If you start this week

  • You leave visit one knowing which system is misreporting
  • Vestibular treatment starts the same visit, one-on-one with a Doctor of Physical Therapy
  • You get a plan with an endpoint: a real one, not an open tab of visits

You are the one who drives everyone else to their appointments, which is exactly why nobody has looked at yours. Nobody regrets starting too early.

How We Fix It

The same four phases. Built for the spins.

Every plan has an endpoint. Here is what the four phases look like for dizziness and vertigo.

Weeks 1–2

Pain

Stop the room spinning.

Positional testing shows what provokes the episodes, and repositioning or hands-on work goes to work on it your first visit.

Weeks 2–6

Prime

Retrain the signal.

Gaze stabilization and graded head movement get your eyes and inner ear agreeing again, in doses you can handle.

Weeks 6–10

Perform

Steady on your feet.

Balance and strength work progresses onto softer surfaces, head turns and real walking speed, so steadiness holds up outside the clinic.

Weeks 10+

Prevent

Get your world back.

Driving, stairs, crowded aisles and travel get rehearsed with you before you are on your own with them. That is the endpoint, not just another appointment.

Dan and Sean DPT are 2 of the most polite professional and calming therapists. Dan was my therapist for vestibular vertigo and balance. We also did strength training because of deconditioning after my ear surgery recovery. Coincidentally I have friends who go to Elevate PT and speak very highly of their experience with Dan as well.

Shared by lori N. · Vestibular vertigo and balance

Phase one: the ceiling moving every time you roll over

Phase four: head turns, stairs and crowded aisles without bracing

Dizziness and vertigo Four phases

Related Conditions

Pain rarely stays in one place.

Compensation patterns often show up nearby. Here’s what else we treat.

1

Balance & Gait Disorders

Reaching for the wall on the way down the hallway.

Learn More 2

Neck Pain

The ache that starts at your desk and follows you home.

Learn More 3

Chronic Pain

Pain that outlasted the injury that started it.

Learn More

Questions, Answered

What people ask before booking for dizziness.

BPPV happens when tiny crystals end up loose in the wrong part of the inner ear, so changing head position sends a false signal that the room is spinning. It is one of the most common causes of vertigo and one of the most treatable. We test to confirm which canal is involved, use repositioning techniques for that canal, and show you what to do if it ever comes back.

No. Illinois has direct access, so you can be evaluated here without a physician referral. Part of a vestibular evaluation is deciding what belongs to physical therapy and what does not. If your history or our testing points to something that needs a physician, we will say so plainly and help you get in front of one.

Some of them are meant to make you mildly dizzy, because controlled exposure is how the system learns to settle. The dose is the entire job. Dr. Daniel Wrzosek treats vertigo and balance here, and you work one-on-one with a Doctor of Physical Therapy every visit, so the amount is set for you and moves up only as you are ready. Your plan runs through four phases, Pain, Prime, Perform and Prevent, so you always know where you are in it.

Book Your Visit

Ready when you are.

Request a time and a real person calls you back. No phone tree. No ‘someone will reach out.’ Just a plan.

  • Hours Mon–Thu 7am–7pm · Fri 7am–5pm
  • (708) 657-4038 Prefer to talk now? Call us.
  • No referral needed in Illinois

5.0 · 120+ Google reviews

Typical response: under 2 business hours

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