6 Best Home Exercises to Combat Vertigo

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Author Name: Lucas Cook
Date: Monday February 3, 2025

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Living with vertigo is not fun. Who would choose to experience dizziness, loss of balance, blurred vision and nausea regularly? Fortunately, there are some exercises you can do at home to combat this typical result of migraines or head injuries. Investigate the following step-by-step routines for several home exercise options that could alleviate your vertigo type. Remember to consult your physical therapy specialist before trying any of them, though.

1. The Marching Exercise

The Marching exercise is a simple procedure many people with vertigo use to prepare for more complex exercises. All you need is an open space near a wall in your bedroom, living room or kitchen and a single chair, similar to the Romberg exercise that follows soon.

  • Stand with your feet slightly apart, facing away from a nearby wall, with the chair in front of you. If you start losing your balance during the exercise, use the wall behind you or the chair you’re facing for support.
  • Position your arms at your side.
  • With your arms at your side, alternate lifting your knees as high as possible, like you’re marching in place.
  • Keep marching in place for 20 steps, then stop and stand still for 30 seconds. Repeat the exercise, increasing your steps to 30.

You can do the Marching exercise twice or thrice daily as a stand-alone routine or in preparation for another vertigo exercise. Remember, if you start feeling dizzy, use the wall or chair to maintain your balance.

looking down on a flight of stairs

2. The Romberg Exercise

Specialists developed the Romberg exercise as a level-one beginner routine to assist vertigo patients in managing their symptoms. By training your body to manage the vertigo effects, symptoms often improve. Like the Marching exercise, you’ll want a nearby wall and a chair.

  • Like the Marching exercise, and for the same reason, stand facing the chair with the wall behind you. This time, put your feet together so your ankles touch.
  • Depending on how you feel most comfortable, position your arms at your sides or cross them over your chest. 
  • Close your eyes. If the dizziness is too much, open them, but maintain your position.
  • Try closing your eyes for 30 seconds at some time during the exercise.

You can do the Romberg exercise up to three times daily. If you’re mastering the routine, try raising your chin and lowering it with closed eyes during a session. 

3. The Epley Maneuver

The Epley maneuver moves any misaligned inner ear crystals (canalith debris), which commonly cause vertigo problems, back into your inner ear. This realignment helps with many vertigo forms, most notably in people with benign paroxysmal positional vertigo (BPPV).

  • Sit on your bed with your legs hanging over the side.
  • While sitting, angle your head 45 degrees to the side with the vertigo.
  • In that position, lie backward and settle on your back.
  • Recline your head at the same angle, along with your shoulders, on a pillow.
  • Stay in that position for 30 seconds.
  • Without raising your chin, turn your head 45 degrees in the other direction.
  • Keep that position on the pillow for a further 30 seconds.
  • Turn your body 90 degrees toward the side where your head is angled, allowing your head to turn the extra 45 degrees so you’re facing into the pillow.
  • Hold that position for at least 30 seconds, but longer if the vertigo is still easing.
  • Sit up again, hopefully, with the vertigo symptoms eased.

If your vertigo persists, follow the Epley maneuver for 10 to 15 minutes, when the symptoms should ease. To be safe, resist driving for a further 15 minutes thereafter.

woman in a haze

4. The Brandt-Daroff Exercise

The Brandt-Daroff exercise works similarly to the Epley Maneuver to dislodge the inner ear crystals causing you dizziness. It is particularly beneficial for BPPV and labyrinthitis vertigo forms. You can do this exercise on a bed or couch and repeat it as often during the day as necessary.

  • Sit upright with your feet on the floor.
  • Angle your head so your nose points upward at a 45-degree angle.
  • Lie down on your side without changing your head’s angle.
  • Maintain that lying position for 30 seconds.
  • Sit up straight again without moving your head.
  • After sitting for 30 seconds, repeat the process on your other side.

If you stick to the 30-second rule between changing positions, you should suffer no side effects. As your head is angled upward, be careful not to bump it on any nearby furniture.

5. The Sémont Maneuver

The Sémont maneuver is especially effective if you have BPPV by also targeting inner ear canalith debris. As a precaution, many people prefer to do this exercise routine with someone else present.

  • Sit on a flat surface so your legs hang over the side. A table is often the best place to perform this routine.
  • Turn your head 45 degrees away from the vertigo-affected side.
  • Quickly lie down on the side with the vertigo. You may feel dizzy, so remain on your side until the sensation subsides.
  • When it does, sit up again and immediately lie down on the side to which your head is facing. Again, stay lying down if you’re feeling dizzy.
  • Repeat the process for up to 15 minutes. Be prepared to feel some dizziness throughout the routine.

With the Sémont maneuver, you’re addressing the root cause of your vertigo. If you battle vertigo when looking down from a height, you likely have an inner ear imbalance due to canalith debris. This exercise could help. It is often a taxing and stressful exercise, so it’s a good idea to have somebody close to support you and help if the dizzy spells get too much. Avoid driving for at least 15 minutes after finishing the routine.

dizzy clouded vision

6. The Gaze Stabilization Routine

The gaze stabilization routine is a vital set of vertigo management exercises formulated to retrain your brain to reduce dizziness during head movements. The routine includes a series of specific eye movements that improve your balance and stability.

  • Sit in a comfortable position with your head completely still. 
  • Focus on a point within your vision and move your eyes from left to right. Repeat the process for a minute.
  • Focus on the same point, but move your eyes up and down, again keeping your head still.
  • The last exercise is to move your eyes diagonally from the top left of your vision to the bottom right and then from the top right to the bottom left.

By habitually using the gaze stabilization routine, your brain will retrain itself to better cope with dizzy spells caused by moving your head quickly. The trick is to practice the exercises often to improve your general balance.

Home Vertigo Exercises Can Help

While these regular exercises at home can help combat your vertigo, even religiously practicing them doesn’t guarantee you’ll be vertigo-free. Many more serious forms of vertigo require professional vestibular rehabilitation therapy (VRT) to reduce or eliminate balance issues and dizziness. Doing vertigo exercises at home could work for you, so, with your physical therapist’s agreement, try them out before contemplating further steps.

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