Say the word “vertigo” and a lot of people will think of the Alfred Hitchcock movie. But if you’ve ever suffered from the condition, you know it’s no laughing matter. In fact, it can be downright scary. Imagine feeling trapped in place unable to move with the world seemingly spinning around you. Worse, vertigo episodes are often accompanied by sweatiness, headaches, ringing in the ears, rapid jerking of the eyes, nausea, and vomiting.
Sue Ricker is a retired school teacher from Aurora, Colorado. She had to deal with sudden and unexpected vertigo episodes for ten long years. As she told a local television news reporter, “It was just debilitating. Everything about you will move, will spin. I couldn’t drive. I couldn’t walk. I had to hold onto the wall and it was very, very scary.” She found a simple but effective treatment for her vertigo thanks to a YouTube video posted by an ear, nose and throat specialist.
Dr. Carol Foster is an associate professor of Otolaryngology (ear, nose, and throat) at the University of Colorado hospital. She discovered a way for people suffering from positional vertigo to alleviate their symptoms. She calls it the “half somersault maneuver.” It’s helped people all over the world and attracted a massive number of views on YouTube. The Doctor modestly quipped that it isn’t quite at the level of a cat video!
To do the vertigo-curing half-somersault, you start by kneeling on the floor. Then you tilt your head back and look at the ceiling. After that, you bring your head down to the floor in an upside-down position, just like you’re about to do a somersault. Turn your head toward your left elbow and hold in in place until the feeling of dizziness or spinning go away. Bring your head back up and level with your back and hold this position until any remaining dizziness goes away. The final step is to sit back and return to the position you were originally in.
For more details, check out the video we’ve posted below. Has this worked for you or someone you know? Tell us all about it in the Facebook comments and don’t forget to like and share!