02/18/2026
Do you treat vertigo?
A lot of therapists hear “vertigo” and immediately think crystals, more likely than not, not something they can treat. And sure -BPPV is real, and if that’s what it is, you better do the positional testing and treat it properly or refer to someone who can.
But what we see all the time is that a big chunk of dizzy / vertigo clients aren’t dealing with an inner ear problem… they’re dealing with a regulation problem.
They’re in that state where the system is basically saying -“Nope. Too much. Not safe.”
And when that happens, you’ll often see the classic combo of dizziness + nausea, feeling “off” or floaty, symptoms ramping with head movement or position change, neck tension / guarding, shallow breathing, and the whole system feeling jumpy or unstable.
That’s not just mechanics. That’s the nervous system running with the parking brake on.
With RAPID...we are never trying to “relax people into a puddle.”
It’s us using a precise, sensory input to help the system shift out of protection.
And one of the reasons it works is because we’re often engaging pathways that influence the autonomic nervous system, including vagal (rest and digest) tone.
We’re not claiming we can “fix” the vagus nerve like it’s a loose cable.
But we are saying that the kind of sensory input we use is consistent with changing autonomic balance… and for a lot of vertigo clients, that’s the missing piece.
What does that look like in real life?
Not "zen" or "super chill", but instead it looks like less dizziness with the same head turn, less nausea with position changes. better balance, clearer eyes, less “spinny” feeling, less bracing through neck and upper chest, and more confidence moving.
Basically -the system is still “on”…but it’s not overreacting.
The RAPID rule...we don’t guess -we prove it.
We don’t sell a story. We do test → treat → re-check.
We’ll re-check something simple, symptom response to a head turn, getting up / laying down, balance, and neck ROM if it’s involved.
If the symptoms drop and the movement gets better -that’s the result. And if if the symptoms don't improve- it's possible that it is a crystal issue, and we refer out.
Bottom line...
Vertigo isn’t always a “crystal issue.” Sometimes it’s a nervous system regulation issue -and RAPID can help take the parking brake off so the brain can process movement without flipping into threat.
