What is the Epley Manoeuvre?
The Epley Manoeuvre is used for the treatment of Benign Paroxysmal Positional Vertigo (BPPV).
What is the benefit of the Epley Manoeuvre?
The manoeuvre can stop the dizzy spells experienced by BPPV sufferers.
It is a simple treatment of moving the head and body into various positions over a few minutes. This treatment uses gravity to move the debris away from where it is causing problems.
The exercise must be done on the side in which the symptoms are occurring. Your Consultant or Audiologist will help you determine which side is causing the problems.
You are likely to feel a sensation of vertigo, especially so on the problem side. This is quite normal and will pass within a few seconds. The more you do the movements the more the feeling of vertigo should lessen.
What are the risks or disadvantages?
These exercises are likely to provoke dizziness, therefore, should be performed in a safe environment preferably with another person present. Some people find it difficult to persevere with the exercises but the exercises do have a good success rate.
Are there any alternatives to performing these exercises?
There are alternative manoeuvres that can be used to treat BPPV, such as the Semont Manoeuvre. Your Audiologist may perform a Semont Manoeuvre with you in clinic and then recommend Brandt-Daroff exercises for you to use at home as these are easier to perform unsupervised.
This manoeuvre should be done 3 times a day. Repeat this daily until you are free from positional vertigo for 24 hours.
If the dizziness persists after 2 weeks you may require a further appointment.
How to do the Epley Manoeuvre (Left)
