Greer, SC · What we treat
Dizziness & vertigo in Greer.
A room that spins for a few seconds when you roll over in bed, or a sense of unsteadiness that’s hard to describe to anyone who hasn’t felt it: a cause-first evaluation tests exactly what kind of dizziness this is, then a plan with an endpoint treats it directly, or tells you honestly when it isn’t a physical therapy problem at all.
You’ve probably said one of these.
Nobody walks in describing BPPV they haven’t had tested. They describe moments like these. Tap one that sounds like yours.
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OftenThe classic pattern of BPPV, loose calcium crystals in the inner ear’s balance canals, often treatable in one or two visits.
See how a repositioning maneuver treats it ⟶ -
UsuallyA vestibular or neck-related contributor to dizziness with head movement, testable with specific positional exams.
See what’s actually behind that feeling ⟶ -
OftenA visual-vestibular mismatch, a known trigger in busy visual environments once the balance system is already compromised.
See how balance retraining helps ⟶
- “I sit down fast when I stand up too quickly, before the room catches up.”
- “I’ve started avoiding looking up at tall shelves at the store.”
- “Getting out of bed in the dark feels riskier than it used to.”
If two or three of those sound like your experience, you’re not overreacting. You’re describing a pattern we see often, and one an evaluation is built to sort out.
Why does dizziness happen?
There’s rarely one single cause, which is exactly why guessing doesn’t work. What we usually find, alone or in combination, and where physical therapy fits:
- BPPV (benign paroxysmal positional vertigo). Small calcium crystals displaced within the inner ear’s balance canals, triggering brief spinning with specific head movements. One of the most common causes, and one of the most treatable.
- Vestibular hypofunction. A reduced signal from one or both inner ears, leaving the brain with a mismatched sense of motion, often after a virus or without any clear trigger.
- Cervicogenic dizziness. Stiffness or dysfunction in the upper neck feeding a sense of imbalance, especially with head turns, distinct from an inner ear cause.
- Visual-vestibular mismatch. A balance system compensating imperfectly for a vestibular deficit, showing up most in busy visual environments like stores or crowds.
- Non-vestibular causes. Some dizziness comes from blood pressure changes, medication, or cardiac or neurological issues, none of which physical therapy treats, and all of which deserve a physician’s evaluation first.
None of these are diagnoses you make yourself. That’s exactly what the evaluation sorts out, and part of doing it honestly is telling you when it’s not something we treat.
How do we treat dizziness and vertigo in Greer?
Treatment starts with a cause-first evaluation: positional testing that identifies whether this is BPPV, a vestibular deficit, a neck-driven pattern, or something outside physical therapy’s scope. From there, care moves through four named phases.
The plan’s endpoint is named at your evaluation, reviewed with you every phase, because the goal is to get you moving your head normally again, not to keep you on the schedule.
Identify what kind of dizziness this is.
Positional testing to determine whether this is BPPV, a vestibular deficit, a neck-driven pattern, or something outside our scope, often clarified in the first visit.
Treat what the testing finds.
Canalith repositioning maneuvers for BPPV, or targeted neck and vestibular treatment for other confirmed causes, dosed to what you can tolerate that day.
Retrain the system that’s compensating.
Gaze stabilization and balance retraining exercises that rebuild the brain’s ability to filter motion signals accurately.
Move your head without bracing for it.
A home program for any residual sensitivity, plus clear guidance on what would warrant a return visit.
What does getting better look like?
People who book an evaluation for vertigo usually have a specific trigger they can describe exactly, rolling over in bed, looking up, standing quickly, and have often been told to give it time. If that’s closer to your version, you’re the typical patient here, not an unusual case.
Progress tends to show up in exactly those triggers: rolling over in bed without the room spinning, looking up at a shelf without steadying yourself, standing from a chair without pausing first. When it’s genuinely vestibular, waiting it out often costs weeks that a repositioning maneuver could have resolved in a single visit.
When it’s something physical therapy treats, the fix is often faster than people expect. When it isn’t, the honest answer is a referral, not a program.
Which services treat dizziness and vertigo?
Physical Therapy
The foundation of treatment: the cause-first evaluation and the four-phase plan that runs the whole recovery.
02Manual Therapy
Hands-on treatment for the neck stiffness behind cervicogenic dizziness, distinct from an inner ear cause.
03Therapeutic Exercise
Gaze stabilization and balance retraining that carries Phase III and IV forward.
04Spinal Manipulation
Addresses upper neck restriction when the exam points to a cervicogenic contributor to your dizziness.
“They fully invest in helping you reach your goals, and they are all great people to be around!”Will Holmes · Zone PT patient
Questions, answered plainly.
The things people ask on the phone about dizziness and vertigo, written down.
The evaluation starts with positional testing that distinguishes BPPV and other vestibular causes from things like blood pressure changes, medication effects, or neurological causes, none of which fall under physical therapy. If your symptoms and exam findings point outside that scope, we'll tell you directly and refer you to the right physician rather than starting a program that isn't the right fit.
For BPPV specifically, yes, largely: canalith repositioning maneuvers move the displaced crystals back where they belong, and many people feel dramatically better within one or two visits. Other causes of dizziness need different treatment, gaze and balance retraining, neck-specific work, which the evaluation will identify.
Often briefly, yes. The repositioning maneuvers work by moving the inner ear through the exact positions that trigger the spinning, so a short burst of dizziness during the maneuver is expected and typically settles within a minute. Most people find that trade worth it once the trigger stops recurring at home.
BPPV can recur, and if it does, the same maneuver usually resolves it again quickly, often faster the second time since you already know what to expect. If dizziness returns in a different pattern than before, that's worth a new evaluation rather than assuming it's the same issue.
Start with a cause-first evaluation for your dizziness.
Put it in writing.
Five short questions. A real person calls you back, usually within two business hours, with times that fit your week.
The people who end up filling this out are rarely in the worst pain of their life. They’re just done working around it, done picking the errand that doesn’t require the stairs. If that’s the stage you’re at, this is the part where you stop researching and start.
Consider it filed.
A real person will call you back, usually within two business hours, with appointment times that fit your week. Keep your phone nearby.
Can’t wait? Call (864) 263-7390 ⟶Easy to find. Easy to park.
In the neighborhood, with parking by the door. Come see the place before you commit, if you like.
The clinic · Zone Physical Therapy
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