Articles

January 2026 – Dizziness is a common complaint that should be reviewed by your Health Care Provider. Chronic Dizziness is described in the literature as Persistent Postural-Perceptual Dizziness¹, but older adults often describe this as “unsteadiness” and it is reported to occur in 30-50% of adults over 40². Diagnostic criteria include:

Dizziness or unsteadiness without vertigo, described as room-spinning sensation, that occurs most days for 3 months, where symptoms last for hours but may wax and wane.
Symptoms are exacerbated by 3 factors:
- Upright posture
- Active or passive motion without regard to direction or position
- Triggered by exposure to moving stimuli or complex visual patterns
Symptoms cause significant distress and/or functional impairment and are NOT accounted for by another disease or disorder.

This symptom of Persistent Dizziness is also often co-existent with neurologic or psychiatric disorders. Options for management include:

Talk to your doctor about whether an antidepressant could relieve symptoms, particularly if there is a lot of anxiety triggered by the symptoms
Relaxation techniques, with mindfulness or Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (what triggers this, how to avoid triggers, what can you do if it is triggered, it is NOT serious)
Habituation – getting used to the symptom and realizing it is not serious by going through Vestibular/Balance Therapy which is very common in the community

Balance training can be started in a seated position by turning your head and keeping eyes on a target directly in front of you. When comfortable, you can progress to walking while turning your head (review the Staggered Head Nod & Turn exercise here [English or Spanish]). Another technique is to stand in the middle of a doorway, hold the wall with hands on either side of the wall and turn your head back and forth while looking at the wall edge.

¹ Popkirov A 2018, Staab 2007
² Wasserman A 2022