BPPV — Home Exercise Resources

Step-by-step videos and downloadable handouts for the Epley manoeuvre and Brandt-Daroff exercises, to use at home alongside your in-clinic treatment.

Important

Only perform these exercises if your therapist has diagnosed BPPV and demonstrated the technique to you in clinic. If your dizziness is new, undiagnosed, or accompanied by other symptoms (hearing loss, weakness, chest pain, severe headache), please see your GP first.

What is BPPV?

Benign Paroxysmal Positional Vertigo (BPPV) is one of the most common causes of vertigo — a brief, spinning sensation triggered by certain head movements. It happens when tiny calcium carbonate crystals, normally embedded in a part of your inner ear, become dislodged and drift into one of the fluid-filled balance canals.

When you move your head — rolling over in bed, looking up, or bending down — these loose crystals shift within the canal and send confusing signals to your brain about your body's position, producing a short, intense spinning sensation. Episodes are usually brief, lasting seconds to about a minute, and settle once the crystals stop moving.

The good news is BPPV is very treatable. In most cases, specific head and body positioning exercises — like the Epley manoeuvre — can guide the crystals back to where they belong, often resolving symptoms within one to a few sessions.

The Home Epley Manoeuvre

The Epley manoeuvre is a sequence of head and body position changes designed to move the dislodged crystals out of the affected balance canal and back into the part of the inner ear where they cause no symptoms. Your therapist will have shown you which side to perform it on. Watch the video below for a refresher, then use the same technique at home.

Source: Royal United Hospitals Bath NHS Foundation Trust

Brandt-Daroff Exercises

Brandt-Daroff exercises are a self-treatment, habituation-based alternative for when the Epley manoeuvre isn't practical to perform, or when your therapist has recommended them specifically. Rather than repositioning the crystals in one go, these exercises are repeated regularly to help your brain adapt and reduce the intensity of dizziness over time.

Source: University Hospital Southampton NHS Foundation Trust

When to see your physiotherapist

Most people notice a clear improvement within one to a few sessions of the Epley manoeuvre. If your dizziness hasn't improved after two weeks of consistent home exercises, or if it's getting worse, please book a follow-up so we can reassess and adjust your treatment plan.

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