Physical treatment of horizontal canal benign positional vertigo.

In recent years many methods of physical therapy have been proposed for the treatment of benign paroxysmal positional vertigo due to otolithic debris in the horizontal semicircular canal. All these methods have attempted to promote displacement of debris from the canal to the utricle. This paper reports our experiences with maneuvers advocated by Lempert and Vannucchi et al. Eighteen patients suffering from benign paroxysmal positional vertigo of the horizontal canal were evaluated in the present study. All seven patients treated with the Vannucchi maneuvers resolved their vertigos. Ten of the remaining patients were managed with Lempert's maneuver and responded successfully. The physical therapy used failed in only one patient. Current experience has shown that both maneuvers are particularly valid and efficacious.