#93: OT and BPPV with Jeff Walter

The Epley maneuver is a 💎 rare gem 💎 in the OT toolkit.

A patient can walk into our treatment room, and they can walk out cured.
They can walk out with instant relief.

(Yes, there is nuance to this. Sometimes the maneuver needs to be repeated. Sometimes it simply doesn’t work. There are important contraindications.) But, the other thing that makes this a GEM is that more so than any other condition we treat there are clear clinical guidelines for treatment of benign paroxysmal positional vertigo (BPPV).

But, despite the amazing power of this treatment, and the swath of research behind it. Many people fail to have their BPPV identified and treated in a timely manner.

In today’s article, we get to learn about a trauma center that trained their therapists in managing BPPV after TBI, and were able to reduce their referrals to neurology.

You are going to have so many questions after reading this article, and that’s why I am so thankful to welcome to the podcast, Jeff Walter, a PT who has devoted much of his career to treating and teaching on this condition.

You can find more details on this course here:
https://otpotential.com/ceu-podcast-courses/ot-and-bppv

Here's the primary research we are discussing:
Does training therapists to manage benign paroxysmal positional vertigo in patients with acute traumatic brain injury reduce vestibular neurology referrals?