Infrared Goggles in Mechanicsburg, PA

How can Infrared Video Goggles help you?

Infrared video goggles assist your physical therapist at FYZICAL Therapy & Balance Centers in Mechanicsburg in determining where your vertigo complaints might be originating from. The goggles have invisible infrared lights that can illuminate the eyes of a patient suffering from vertigo and help to allow for a differential diagnosis between central and peripheral vestibular disorders. FYZICAL Therapy & Balance Centers uses this device to help us determine where the source of a patient's dizziness or vertigo may be coming from.

Special Tests for Patients Who Need Infrared Goggles

There are special tests done to determine if the problem originates from more of a central/brain origin or a peripheral/vestibular system origin. When performing these tests the therapist must look at what a patient’s eyes do during the specific testing. The problem that exists is some patients have learned compensation techniques to fixate their eyes on an object to help decrease their dizziness complaints. While this may help a patient feel better, it unfortunately, keeps the therapist from seeing an abnormal movement of the eyes during certain tests. The goggles create a dark environment for the patient while projecting a video of the eyes to a computer screen. This prevents the patient from being able to fixate their eyes and allows the therapist to see any abnormal eye movements that could provide information as to the potential source of the patient’s problem.

Other Uses for Infrared Goggles in Mechanicsburg

Another key use for the Infrared Video Goggles, that can be found at FYZICAL Therapy & Balance Centers in Mechanicsburg, is to correctly diagnose a common vertigo problem called BPPV (Benign Paroxysmal Positional Vertigo). This problem occurs when calcium carbonate crystals get into one or more of the vestibular semicircular canals and certain maneuvers must be performed to remove those crystals from the canals.

A common misconception is there is ONE maneuver to remove those crystals. This is FALSE. There are three canals in each vestibular system and one vestibular system in each ear. Each canal has one OR MORE repositioning maneuvers that can be performed to remove the crystals.

The key is determining what canal has the problem. The way to determine this is to see what direction the eye moves during certain testing. The goggles are key to properly evaluating eye movements seen during these positional tests.

Get Infrared Goggles in Mechanicsburg at FYZICAL Therapy & Balance Centers

Your vestibular therapists, at FYZICAL Therapy & Balance Centers in Mechanicsburg (Mercury Drive or Carlisle Pike locations), have been trained in the use of this specialized equipment and look forward to providing you with a complete evaluation for your vertigo and balance complaints. Contact our clinic to schedule an appointment with one of our vestibular therapists.