Epley maneuver

[2] The maneuver works by allowing free-floating particles, displaced otoconia, from the affected semicircular canal to be relocated by using gravity, back into the utricle, where they can no longer stimulate the cupula, therefore relieving the patient of bothersome vertigo.

Following the treatment, the clinician may provide the patient with a soft collar, often worn for the remainder of the day, as a cue to avoid any head positions that may once again displace the otoconia.

However, study patients who were not provided with any activity restrictions, needed one or two additional treatment sessions to attain a successful outcome.

[8] The Epley maneuver appears to be a long-term, effective, and conservative treatment for BPPV that has a limited number of complications (nausea, vomiting, and residual vertigo)[2] and is well tolerated by patients.

[9] The goal of an Epley maneuver is to restore the equilibrium of the vestibular system, more specifically, to the semicircular canals, in order to treat the symptoms associated with BPPV.

[5] Recent pathological findings also suggest that the displaced otoconia typically settle in the posterior semicircular canal in the cupula of the ampulla and render it sensitive to gravity.