Headache Treatments In Norwest

We start with a careful assessment to understand the cause of your headache and determine if it’s treatable through physiotherapy or if a referral to a doctor might be more suitable. For most primary headaches and migraines, including tension headaches and neck-related headaches, the muscles, joints, and nerves around the upper neck and brainstem play a major role.

Our approach goes beyond immediate pain relief to look for other potential causes, like lifestyle factors/triggers, and even past injuries that can increase sensitivity of the neck and brainstem. This comprehensive approach helps us provide personalized advice to prevent future headaches, as factors like stress, posture, and past injuries can all contribute to recurring headaches.

Our Treatment Techniques

Once we understand the cause, we use gentle, effective techniques tailored to each type of headache, often combining several methods:

• Acupuncture (if you’re comfortable with it) to relieve pain and release tension

• Massage and gentle neck pressure to relax and release tight muscles, without cracking the neck

• Postural retraining and breathwork if this is relevant, to take pressure off the neck and head

We treat a wide range of headaches, including:

• Migraines (with and without aura)

• Neck-related headaches

• Tension headaches

• Chronic daily headache and persistent pain

• Cluster headaches

• Menstrual migraines

• Medication overuse headaches

This blend of techniques helps target the source of your headaches, bringing relief and helping prevent future occurrences.

Dizziness & Vestibular Physiotherapy in Norwest

Dizzy, spinning or unsteady? There are answers, and effective treatment.

Dizziness can be frightening, exhausting and isolating. It can make you afraid to turn your head, drive, work, exercise or even get out of bed. The good news is that most causes of dizziness are treatable, and physiotherapy plays a key role.

At Norwest Central Physiotherapy & Sports Clinic, we assess and treat dizziness and balance problems by working out why you're dizzy, not just masking the symptoms.

You may be experiencing:

• Spinning (vertigo) or a sense that the room is moving

• Dizziness when rolling over in bed, looking up or bending down

• Unsteadiness, or feeling "off" or like you're on a boat

• Lightheadedness or brain fog

• Nausea or motion sensitivity

• Dizziness in busy places, supermarkets or on screens

• Dizziness or balance changes after a head or neck injury

Conditions we assess and treat

BPPV (Benign Paroxysmal Positional Vertigo), or "loose ear rocks"
The most common cause of vertigo. Tiny crystals in the inner ear become dislodged and send confusing signals to the brain, causing short, intense spinning spells with certain head movements. BPPV responds very well to specific repositioning manoeuvres, and many people improve in just a few sessions.

Vestibular neuritis and labyrinthitis
Inflammation of the inner ear or its nerve, usually following a viral illness, causing sudden, severe vertigo followed by lingering unsteadiness. Vestibular rehabilitation helps your brain recalibrate and recover.

Ménière's disease
Episodes of vertigo with ear fullness, tinnitus and fluctuating hearing loss. While physiotherapy doesn't treat the underlying disease, it can help with imbalance between attacks and build your confidence and stability.

Vestibular migraine
Dizziness or vertigo caused by migraine, with or without a headache. We help identify triggers and provide rehabilitation, working alongside your GP or neurologist.

Persistent Postural-Perceptual Dizziness (PPPD)
A chronic condition of ongoing unsteadiness or rocking, worse when upright, moving or in visually busy environments. It often develops after another vestibular problem, and a gradual, guided rehabilitation approach can help.

Neck-related dizziness (cervicogenic dizziness)
Whiplash, neck stiffness or injury can disrupt the signals your neck sends to your brain about position and movement, causing dizziness and unsteadiness.

Concussion and head injury
Ongoing dizziness, visual sensitivity and balance problems are common after concussion, and targeted rehabilitation can help you return to work, study and sport.

Hypermobility and dizziness
Joint hypermobility can affect stability, neck control and body awareness, contributing to dizziness. Strengthening and sensory retraining can make a real difference.

Other balance problems
Including unsteadiness after inner ear problems, motion sensitivity, visually triggered dizziness and balance difficulties that affect confidence or increase falls risk.

Our approach: find the cause, treat the cause

Dizziness isn't one condition. It has many possible causes, and the right treatment depends on getting the diagnosis right.

Your assessment may include a detailed history, testing of your balance, eye movements and inner ear function, positional testing for BPPV, and a thorough assessment of your neck. [If applicable: We use infrared video goggles to observe eye movements that can't be seen with the naked eye, allowing more accurate diagnosis and treatment.]

Depending on your diagnosis, treatment may include:

• Vestibular rehabilitation: specific exercises or manoeuvres, [with or without infrared video goggles]

• Canalith repositioning manoeuvres for BPPV

• Manual therapy, massage or acupuncture to ease neck tension

• Exercise and Clinical Pilates to build neck strength, stability and body awareness

• Education and reassurance, so you understand what's happening and feel in control

Where medication is part of the picture (for example, migraine prevention in vestibular migraine), we work alongside your GP, neurologist or ENT so your care is coordinated.

What is vestibular rehabilitation?

Your sense of balance depends on your inner ears, eyes and brain working together. When one part is disrupted, the system can become confused, leading to dizziness and unsteadiness. Vestibular rehabilitation is an exercise-based therapy that retrains your ears, eyes and brain to work together again, so you can regain normal balance, stability and confidence in movement.

When to seek urgent medical help

Go to your nearest emergency department or call 000 if dizziness comes with sudden severe headache, slurred speech, facial droop, limb weakness, double vision, loss of consciousness, chest pain or sudden hearing loss.

Ready to feel steady again?

You don't have to keep living with dizziness. Book an appointment online or call us on 8850 1238.

We'll listen, work out what is going on and build a plan to get you moving with confidence.